


Even If You're A Guy

by daphnerunning, Galiko



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Biting, Blood Drinking, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Incest, M/M, dubcon roleplay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 13:30:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 71,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7686400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daphnerunning/pseuds/daphnerunning, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galiko/pseuds/Galiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I shouldn’t have had to blackmail you. You should be loyal enough to your unit to agree.” Rei sighs, staring over at him sadly. “Honestly, Kaoru-kun. It isn’t as if I’m asking you to do this forever. Just for a month, that’s all I’m asking, and then we can call it off and be the source of a great deal of angst and drama.”</p><p>Sakuma Rei is back from England, ready to start his third year with a bang--which spells trouble for his unit, his family, and most of all for one Hakaze Kaoru, who he's determined to pretend to be dating.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Hakaze! Uh, Hakaze- _senpai_ , you’re not gonna _believe_  this.”

Oogami Koga is a jittery, excitable mess. If Leon were acting like this, Koga would take him for a run for about ten kilometers—as it is, he needs to go running for about twenty. On the first day of the first semester of his second year, Koga is more excited than he’s been in months, and there’s a damned good reason for it.

At least, he thinks so, if it isn’t an error, if it isn’t a _lie._

Kaoru clearly hasn’t gotten the news yet. If he had, he’d be thrilled, too, wouldn’t he? As it is, Koga’s left waiting in frustration for Kaoru to stop texting some fucking girl (it’s always some fucking girl) and to pay attention to him. It’s been like that for the last year, since—“Oi. _Chara otoko,_ fucking pay attention to me.”

Kaoru props his foot up on a chair, resting the other knee across it, bouncing his foot up and down as he fires off another _very cool_ text. “Yeah, yeah, I heard you. Not gonna believe it, not gonna...very cool.”

To: Bun-chan

**haha ur dirty ;) what else wud u want me 2 do? ;)**

**Koga growls, and promptly kicks the chair out from underneath Kaoru’s feet. “Do you give a shit about our unit or not?” he demands.**

Kaoru sighs, standing and turning, straddling his chair instead. “What’s up, Wan-chan? Missed your dewormer? I’ve got a seriously cute girl going right now...”

“I hope you’re gettin’ catfished,” Koga bluntly says, folding his arms over his chest. “Didya not even fucking read the rosters for 3-A and 3-B this year?”

Kaoru yawns hugely, covering his mouth with a hand as he leans back. “Yeah, yeah, our fearless leader’s coming back, and hanging around for a while. Hope you kept that guitar hand of yours in good shape, he always liked to correct your strumming...”

“If you knew already, why weren’t you more excited?!” Koga snarls, grabbing the back (now, technically front) of Kaoru’s chair and shaking it. “The fuck’s wrong with you! You’ve been slackin’ off for a whole year, you’re gonna die!”

Kaoru stares at Koga with a sigh. “If you understood the appeal of girls, you wouldn’t be _nearly_ so excited to welcome back someone like Sakuma-san, who is a guy.”

Koga stares at him, and forcibly has to restrain himself from reaching over and wrapping his hands around Kaoru’s neck. “The fuck,” he slowly says, “is wrong with you. Sakuma-senpai’s the _coolest_ , you’re just an obnoxious fuck boy—“

“Ahh, so this is where you’re all congregating nowadays…” 

If someone was going to describe Koga’s reaction the _most_  accurately, it would be that of a dog perking up and wagging its tail…and then slowly, hesitantly deflating as Sakuma Rei waltzes into the classroom. He certainly _looks_  like the Sakuma Rei he remembers, except with longer hair (which is not a bad thing), but he looks sort of…permanently exhausted, and even indoors, seems to be intent on shrinking away from the light that pours in through the windows. “Long time no see, Kaoru-kun—and my little pupper, look at you, you’ve gotten so biiiiig—“

“Fucking—what the hell, don’t call me that!” Koga immediately complains, stunned into letting Rei pat his head even though this is very, very weird.

Kaoru arches an eyebrow, moving to sit properly on his seat again, crossing his legs and giving Rei a sketchy little salute. “Yo, Sakuma-san,” he says, aiming for _not caring too much_ , observing how Rei looks a little... _less_ , than he had when he’d left. Well, not _right_ before, not when he’d been chewed up and spat out by Tenshouin Eichi’s little ‘games,’ but certainly not the wild, bright-red-eyed force of nature he’d been at the beginning of Kaoru’s first year. “You didn’t bring back a princess for me?”

“Oh, no, you’d hate European women. I did,” Rei dismisses with a wave, snatching Koga back when he tries to flee from his head patting. “Good pupper, have you been practicing while I’ve been away?”

“Die! I’m a wolf!” Koga sputters out abruptly, struggling out from Rei’s hold—or trying to, why has he always been so _strong?_  “I’ve been practicin’! You need to yell at Hakaze-senpai, not me!”

Rei’s eyebrows slowly raise, and he releases Koga with a light push. “No one needs to be yelling, least of all you,” he complains, raking a hand back through his hair. “Has UNDEAD truly been reduced to nothing while I’ve been gone? Hmm, Kaoru-kun?”

“He’s been howling,” Kaoru says, nodding at Koga with the air of an older sibling _finally_ having the opportunity to tattle on the younger. “Talking about how UNDEAD is going to kick everyone’s ass, doing the exact opposite of lying low like you told us.”

“Oh, that’s _so_  helpful,” Rei sighs, the sarcasm thick in his voice as he punts Koga a little further along into the room before he plops down into a chair, obviously grateful to be off of his feet. “Because what we need is Tenshouin to _explicitly know_  that I’m coming for him.”

“That guy needs to get wrecked,” Koga mutters, rubbing at the back of his neck and fidgeting for a moment before grabbing a chair himself and plopping down into it with a huff. “I don’t have to put up with his bullshit. Oi, you’re talking _so_  weird—“

“Well, if he knows we’re coming back together, then I have no qualms about holding auditions again for a fourth member…”

“We don’t need a fourth member! Seriously, you’re talkin’ _so_  fucking—“

“And because I have you here,” Rei brightly says to Kaoru in particular, “and I probably never will again, if you’re the same as always, I have a whole new set list planned that you need to learn.”

Kaoru squints at Rei, trying to work out his odd speech. Then, because it gives him less of a headache, he switches to English, fluid and lightly accented. “You know I’ll learn anything real fast, if it means I don’t have to go to practice. Wouldn’t you cry if I weren’t the same as always?”

Rei’s expression brightens this time, because a reminder that Kaoru is the same as always—smart and quick to get a hint and _delightful_  even if he’s terrible at showing up on time—is the warmest welcome he’s received yet. “God, you’re a treat,” he sighs in English as well, his own accent a faint, clumsy mix of Japanese and English straight from Birmingham. He swings his bag off of his shoulder, pulling out the only organized binder in it, which just _happens_  to be everything he’s put together for his unit. “Here you go—ah, your part is marked, our first Live is…well, our first _unofficial_  one is in two weeks. More details to follow.”

“I hate both of you,” Koga mutters, visibly unhappy as he glares between the two of them. Feeling like the odd man out between these two is atypical, and frankly, just fucking _weird_. “Speak Japanese, you both suck.” 

“Has he always been this yappy?” Rei complains in English still, passing a folder marked with Kaoru’s name over to him. “I don’t remember.”

“You’re getting old, Sakuma-san. Starting to forget stuff, huh?” Kaoru takes the folder, flipping through as his eyebrows raise. “I mean, at least your English has gotten a lot better. I’m bummed you didn’t bring me back a cute crumpet, though.”

Then he switches to Japanese and tells Koga, “Don’t worry, I’m just telling him about how many times you’ve challenged other units to Lives. How many are we scheduled for now?”

“Kaoru-kun thinks my English is good now~” Rei happily sing-songs in Japanese again, fishing out Koga’s folder as well. “Don’t worry, pupper; you can’t officially make challenges because you aren’t in charge, so it’s not a problem…this time.” 

“Stop callin’ me that!”

“No.” Rei waves the folder of music underneath his nose. “Have you gotten better at sightreading? Who’s a good boy, is it you?” 

“I’m gonna bite your arm off.” Koga snatches the folder away, stuffing it underneath his arm with a scowl. “You both suck, I’m gonna go practice.” 

Rei ignores him, and smiles over at Kaoru. “Sound check isn’t this Friday, but the next,” he says. “I’ll have a practice room schedule posted in a day or two, and everything else as well, but…I know how you are, so it’s moot. Ah, I suppose you’d know better than me. Are there any second or third years that would fit in with us? That fourth member would just take the pressure right off, I think…”

Kaoru cocks his head. “Real second or third years, or ones that got held back like you? I can’t believe you didn’t even manage to graduate, Sakuma-san.” He pauses, then adds, “And how should I know if the others are any good? They’re all _guys_ , how am I supposed to pay attention to that?”

Rei stares at him, then heaves a long sigh, hauling himself to my feet. “I get it. It’s too much to expect you to be useful beyond your pretty face. Things to remember, when I escape from this hellhole of a school and become famous at last…”

“Ah, you really are the same as ever, even if you’ve got a stupid new accent.” Kaoru stands, stretching out his arms and back, then buries his face in his phone again, strolling away with a little wave. “Catch you at sound check! Ah, and welcome home!”


	2. Chapter 2

One fucking weird vampire is enough, but when Ritsu starts being weird in the same day, Koga has had enough.

Tracking him down is easy. There’s only a couple of options, anyway, but the scent of Ritsu is enough to make it easy to track him down. Vampires smell like vampires, and after tracking this particularly idiotic vampire down for a year to make sure he didn’t _die_ , Koga has this down to a science.

That’s why he doesn’t even knock when he steps into the Tea Club room, and glares, narrow-eyed and annoyed, at the floppy pile of Ritsu on his customary futon. “Oi,” he lowly says, walking over and nudging the futon with his foot. “You skipped class.”

Ritsu blinks a little, then closes his eyes again after registering that it’s only Koga, and nothing important. “Cuddle or leave,” he says through a yawn, pulling a sweater over himself.

“Fucking…” Koga trails off in frustration, kicking the futon. “Ritchii. It’s the first week of school, you can’t fucking start this shit now or you’re gonna get held back. _Again._ ” Like he’s got any room to talk, but, what the fuck ever.

Ritsu’s eyes crack, just enough for him to peer up through slitted eyelids. “It’s the _first week_ ,” he whines, curling protectively up. “At least I know the answer when the teacher calls on me...what did you say in Dance History, Corgi? That Isadora Duncan died skateboarding?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Koga growls, crouching down and yanking the sweater away that Ritsu’s using as a blanket. “I can put up with one fucking sleepy vampire, not two. Your brother’s used up the slot for the day, so get up.”

Ritsu grabs for the sweater, but misses, and lets out a loud, long whine before lunging forward, biting Koga’s ankle with sharp teeth. “Don’t mention that bastard to me.”

It’s not Koga’s first rodeo dealing with a very cross, very bite-y Sakuma Ritsu, and so he barely even reacts except to grunt and grab Ritsu’s hair, prying him off with slow, even tugs. “What’s the deal?” he demands. “You didn’t even tell me he was comin’ back, and you’ve been fucking hiding all day.”

“Just sleeping,” Ritsu grumbles, flopping down like a dead body when his biting gets no reaction. Stupid Koga. Not that many people are so good at dealing with him, and it makes him grumpier than he already is. “Who wants to talk about that gross bug, anyway?” It’s considerably different from the usual wistful, yearning tone he’s used to talk about his brother for the last year, especially with Koga, who’d usually been using a similar one.

But Koga doesn’t get it. Not yet.

“’s not just sleeping. I’m not stupid.” Koga drops down cross-legged onto the floor next to the futon, hands planted on his knees as he frowns at Ritsu. “You fucking idolize him and he’s finally home, so why are you…” He hesitates, then sighs, raking a hand back through his hair. “I mean, he is acting really obnoxious.”

Ritsu buries his face in the futon, hands curling, fingernails digging little holes into the fabric. “He didn’t tell me he was coming home. And he acted like nothing happened. Didn’t apologize. Didn’t even--come up and say, oh, I didn’t mean to go, Mom made me, whatever...he just...tried to hug me and started talking like a weirdo. I hate that fake accent and I hate him.”

“…Yeah. He showed up today like he never left, and started calling me ‘pupper’ and kept patting my head, what the fuck.” Koga’s mouth twists in irritation. Rei had been so _cool_  in his first year, rough and sharp-tongued and almost _hyperactive_  with the need to perform. It’s embarrassing to think about how much he’s modeled his own life around that kind of personality, but…fuck, now what? “I don’t know what’s up with him,” Koga finally says, reaching over to ruffle Ritsu’s hair with a sigh. “But fuck it. You can’t just sleep in here either way, at least piss him off by being in a boy band or something.”

Ritsu squeezes his eyes shut, a wave of depression breaking over him when he realizes that his stupid, stupid brother, the amazing, cool, talented, passionate guy he’d grown up with...

“That guy didn’t come back from England,” he announces, sullen, butting up against Koga’s head. “This is an imposter. A pod person. A body-stealer. Who got lucky by getting vampire powers. He’s probably going to kill us all.”

“Hate t’tell you, but he’s got the same smell,” Koga glumly says, rubbing Ritsu’s hair like he’d pet his own dog. “Maybe he’ll snap out of it once he kicks the ass of the President or somethin’. It’s all he can talk about.”

“Great,” Ritsu mumbles. “So he comes back shitty to beat up one of my only friends. Quit his stupid band and come join Knights, Corgi.”

“Uh, to be fair, the President’s kind of a shit lord.” Koga smacks the back of Ritsu’s head. “And Knights ain’t gonna let me play guitar. Stop sulking or I’m gonna carry you out of here.”

“Why do you have to carry me anywhere?” Ritsu complains. “I don’t feel good and I’m full of hate. Hey, have you met the new transfer student, yet?”

“Which _one?_ ” Koga crossly asks, rocking back and withdrawing his hand. “You don’t feel good because you’re being fucking negative.” Which is why he had left the practice room earlier when Rei had been too weird and too different for him to process, honestly. “I dunno what kinda babying Isara’s been doin’ with you, but you know I don’t put up with that shit. You’ve gotta come to class for the rest of the week.”

Ritsu bares his fangs, until he remembers that fangs don’t scare Koga. Stupid Koga. “Fine, fine,” he yawns, and holds out his arms to be helped to his feet. “The girl. She smells good, I wanna drink her blood. I’ll feel super energetic if I can get some of that.”

Koga makes a face, disgusted, and immediately hooks his hands underneath Ritsu’s arms to pull him upright, surprisingly careful and gentle in how he sets Ritsu on his feet. “Gross. If you ask me, there’s no point in a girl bein’ here. Kinda ruining the point of the fucking school…and Hakaze-senpai’s gonna be fucking _worse_  now, ugh.”

“Sexist,” Ritsu says with a yawn, getting his feet under him, then rubbing his forehead against Koga’s shoulder, just once, in a huff of affection. “You should carry me to class, too. Maa~kun is playing hard to get and avoiding me when I ask for rides...”

“I’m not sexist, I just think girls are a fucking waste of time,” Koga mutters. He wavers—any other time and he’d tell Ritsu to walk himself, he needs the fucking exercise, obviously—and then sighs. “Fine. I’ll give you a ride if you swear you’ll be in class the rest of the week so I don’t have to do it again.” 

Ritsu’s eyes light up, and he climbs onto Koga’s back without hesitating, latching his hands around his neck. “I guess this isn’t _that_ shitty a day,” he hums to himself, sort of enjoying the way Koga is about five times as strong as Mao. “Hey, how come you’re so strong if you’re just a human?”

“I use the gym, like a normal person?” Koga wryly replies, hiking Ritsu a bit further up on his back before heading out of the room. To him, Ritsu weighs virtually nothing, which just makes him think about Mao struggling—and that’s funny. “You’re gonna have to take a chill pill about your brother,” he lowly adds after a moment. “Maybe he had a shitty time in England and doesn’t wanna talk about it yet. I know he’s really fucking annoying, but…try.”

Ritsu looks askance at Koga, but the tight, unhappy line around Koga’s eyes makes him bite down his retort. Fuck you, Sakuma Rei, for making everyone make that face today. “Maybe we should just eat him.”

“Nah. He looks stringy.”

“It’s fake stringiness. He’s strong, he can lift pianos with one arm. His blood tastes bad, though. Fair warning.”

“Ain’t gonna be drinking it, not important,” Koga grunts, trudging on down the hall to their classroom. “UNDEAD’s making a comeback either way. You gonna come see us?” 

“I might. If you guys can figure out how to do Lives at night again. Don’t let Ecchan boss you guys around anymore, that was bad.”

“It’s gonna be at night, Sakuma-senpai promised.” Koga stops in front of the door, and gives Ritsu’s leg a light swat. “Ride’s over. Be a good kid and come watch us perform. Otherwise, your brother’s gonna be fucking sad, and that’s not good for anyone.”

“Yeah, wouldn’t want to make the pod person body snatcher sad,” Ritsu says, climbing down from Koga’s back, slumping as soon as his feet touch the ground. Reluctantly, he tugs Koga’s sleeve in lieu of a smile, which he still isn’t feeling. “Fine. At least one Live, until he starts behaving himself.”

“If he keeps being a loon, you can beat him up and tell him he’s stupid all you want,” Koga compromises, mussing Ritsu’s hair again thoroughly. “And eat more in the meantime, geez. You’re as light as a feather, dumbass.” 

“Maybe you’re just a really powerful puppy,” Ritsu says with another yawn, and ducks into class, at least feeling functional, if not entirely happy.


	3. Chapter 3

“Sakuma Rei is back.”

The rumor spreads around the school like wildfire, until it even reaches the distant cool of the Handicrafts Club room. Itsuki Shu hears it from two first-years whispering outside the door when he opens it to tell them to loiter _elsewhere_ , honestly.

Well, if Rei doesn’t feel like coming to talk to him, Shu will just have to seek him out. He stitches the sleeves of Mademoiselle’s new outfit, has a quick conversation with her, then sets off for the Light Music Club room, even when most of himself wants to hide away and push the human interaction onto someone else, like Kagehira. But...it’s Rei.

“Are you in there, Rei? I see your coffin,” he announces, as imperiously as ever, Mademoiselle hitched up to ride high on his arm.

_It’s not long before the lid of the coffin starts to move, slowly creaking off and aside. With a long yawn, Sakuma Rei emerges, rumpled and mussed, blinking blearily into the dim light of the Light Music Club room that he now calls his own again._

What he’s met with is a _wonderful_  surprise, and he exhales a long, pleased sigh. “Shu,” he happily greets, draping himself over the side of his coffin. “What a sight for sore eyes. I haven’t had a chance to track you down—my unit has been a _mess_  since I returned—but it’s so good to see you. How are you? Oh, your doll is very cute.” 

“Hello, it’s nice to meet you!”

“This is Sakuma Rei,” Shu says to Mademoiselle, entering with a smile, shutting the door behind him with his free hand. “A dear friend.”

“Ah! You’re the one who warned Shu-kun about that cruel trick Tenshouin-kun played.”

Ah. Well, then. That’s…new.

Rei’s eyebrows arch, but he decides to just…not comment for a moment as he processes. He pulls himself up from the coffin, stretching his arms over his head. “…Nice to meet you,” he finally settles upon, feeling the pit of hatred that he has for one Tenshouin Eichi grow deeper and darker. This is _his_  fault, isn’t it? This is what Kanata had vaguely alluded to, had not quite explained. _“Shu-kun is really…invested in his dolls these days.”_ He had warned Shu, he _had_ , and yet… 

“Lucky for everyone,” Rei says, stepping out of his coffin and smoothing his clothes, “Tenshouin Eichi’s reign is going to come to an end soon. I’ve barely been back and I’ve already had enough.”

“You’ll have to take Wataru down too,” Shu says loftily, tugging at his jabot. “Did you hear, he’s turned traitor and joined Tenshoin in that blasted unit he’s so proud of? Absurd. Ridiculous, and traitorous.”

“They sound pretty good, though,” Mademoiselle puts in, and Shu frowns.   
“Their choreography is a _mess_ , and their costumes are made by professionals because he can’t get anyone with real talent on his side, so their sound could be a great deal more relevant, honestly.”

Rei stares, trying not to let his concern show plan as day on his face, but it’s difficult when Shu is…being like _this_. There’s also the little fact of Wataru that just makes his expression twist bitter. “If Wataru is a traitor, then he’s a traitor,” he mercilessly retorts, briefly tapping his fingers against his chin before striding long-legged across the room to his piano. “What did Tenshouin _do_  to make him join up, present himself in a box with a bow on it?” 

“Strangely enough, I wasn’t party to their personal communications,” Shu says dryly, and takes up a seat next to Rei on the piano bench. “I can do the right hand. Mademoiselle can only do one note at a time, though, so bear that in mind when choosing duets.”

“…Isn’t Mademoiselle a little too nice to carry around all the time?” Rei finally asks, hoping that appeals to Shu’s sensibilities and doesn’t come off as an insult, or…too much of an attempt to pry. His own fingers splay against the familiar piano’s keys. “I’m playing, you’re just keeping me company.”

“Hmm, very well.” Shu straightens Mademoiselle’s skirts, then starts on her curls, making sure not a hair is out of place. “She keeps me company at school, not when there are huge masses of people around. I couldn’t bear the thought of her getting damaged or dirty. She’s very old, you know.”

“Shu-kun takes good care of me. And I take care of Shu-kun by talking for him to people that scare him. It’s a good trade! Ah, but he’s not scared of you, Rei-chan. He likes you quite a lot.”

Definitely Tenshouin’s fault. A clenching, aching pain in his chest reminds Rei that _if I had been here, I could have done something_ , but he says nothing about that, and instead starts the opening bars to Faure’s _Souvenirs de Bayreuth_ —it seems fitting, considering the company. “Ahh, does he now.” Rei flashes Shu a brief smile. “I missed you quite a bit, Shu. I hope the past year without me hasn’t been too difficult.” 

Shu’s smile is strained, and the light in his eyes is dim, his shoulders tense. “Nito joined another unit.” That should tell Rei just about where his mental state is, more than Mademoiselle’s company. “Not that I’ve approved his papers, but...”

“And Valkyrie, as we know it?” Better to focus on what can be helped, because if Rei knows anything about Nito Nazuna, it’s that nothing there can be helped. “You mentioned you brought a cute first year into the fold…who must be a second year now, unless he’s as foolish as I am.”

“A failure. Nothing like my cute Nito.”

“Shu-kun is being awfully tsundere about Mika-chan, but he likes him a lot, too. Shu-kun is really more nervous about his own dancing, these days...”

“Shu has always been a tsundere,” Rei hums, reaching across him to get to the higher range of keys. “If you’re out of shape, that’s something you can fix. Give it time. I heard you took a little sabbatical—has that Mika boy been taking care of you?” 

Shu flutters a hand. “He shoves croissants into my hands sometimes, when I’m up all night sewing. Really, he’s more of a nuisance than anything.”

“Mika-chan’s also a very aggressive cuddler.”

“Rei doesn’t need to know about that, Mademoiselle.”

“He sounds like a good boy. You deserve a good boy, Shu.” Rei pauses after the first movement, and sneaks an affectionate pinch to Shu’s side. “Is he a good kisser, too?” 

Shu squeaks, then stands, covering the noise by pushing the piano bench back, standing with Mademoiselle. “I wouldn’t know anything about that.”

“But Shu-kun, you--”

“We’re going,” Shu says loudly, as if he can drown out her voice, when it’s always going at a low boil in the back of his mind. “Come by the handicrafts room if you want to talk about something _appropriate._ And for the love of God, _sacre bleu_ , whip your team into shape. Someone’s got to entertain Tenshoin until I’m back into condition to take him on myself. With Kagehira, I suppose.”

“We should have a joint performance at some point, it’ll be _wonderful_ ,” Rei says with a laugh, unfazed by Shu’s blustering, but certainly still concerned about…ah, well, at least Mademoiselle seems to be a coping mechanism and not something wholly terrible. “I’m planning to ruin him, Shu. You can count on that.” 

Shu points an imperious finger at Rei. “If you _dare_ to fight him and defeat him before my resurrection, being my best friend won’t save you. I’ll come after you next. He’s my prey. Just as soon as I’m well enough.”

Rei holds his hands up helplessly. “ _I’m_  just going to do what I do best—step on his face and make him cry. If you want to come land the finishing blow, by all means, but forgive me if I get carried away in lieu of his previous wrongdoings.” 

Shu nods just once, firmly. “Very well. But be aware of the consequences, should you get too carried away. Goodbye.”

“Shu-kun is really glad you’re home, Rei-chan!”

“You can flirt later, Mademoiselle. We’re going!”

_It could be worse_ , Rei firmly tells himself, fluttering a wave at Shu’s back. “Take care, Shu, Mademoiselle. I’ll invite you to a real performance soon enough, I promise.” 


	4. Chapter 4

Rei doesn’t particularly enjoy being at school far, far after hours, but it’s better at being home with his mother nagging, prying, and scolding—at least, that would be the typical reason, but this time, it concerns something far more important.

Ritsu hasn’t been home for three days. His mother has been hissing and spitting about that as well, but Rei would be out looking for his little brother even if she hadn’t been. That’s why he’s at the school now, skulking about in the middle of the night, searching for Ritsu in what would seem like the strangest places to other, normal people that aren’t vampires. 

As it is, this seems fairly standard.

It’s in the middle of the garden that Ritsu is sprawled, layered in a few stolen sweaters. _What if one of them is mine?_ is the errant thought that passes through Rei’s mind, and he shoves that down hastily, even as he’s already unbuttoning his own compulsively. “Ritsu…Ritsu, you’re going to get cold out here,” he croons, shrugging his sweater off as he drops down next to Ritsu, tucking it around him. “Come now, let Onii-chan warm you up and take you home~” _It’s my fault you aren’t coming home, but I wish you would at least give me a chance to fix it._

It’s a few long minutes before Ritsu yawns himself awake, realizing what’s happening to him, and he brings his arms up to shove at his brother’s chest. “Gross...leave me alone. Ugh, don’t _hold_ me, don’t--get off me, you gross bug.”

“Noo, Ritsu, let me take care of you.” When he ended up with basically all four limbs around Ritsu is a mystery, but oh well. Rei hugs him tight, nuzzling his hair. “You’re going to get sick out here in the cold like this. Let’s go home together, Mom wants to spoil us with dinner tonight—“

“Let go of me or I’m going to punch you in the nose and make you ugly,” Ritsu says, voice utterly flat. “Aniija.”

“…I mean, I don’t _hate_  that form of address,” Rei hedges, refusing to release Ritsu just yet. “But I miss ‘Onii-chan’ so much—come now, call me that at least once, then I’ll let you go and we can walk home.” 

“I’m not going _anywhere_ with you--do you not get that I hate you?” Ritsu demands, starting to come awake now that his body is drinking in the darkness. “Get _off_ of me.”

“I know that you’re upset with me, and I _know_  we need to talk about a few things, but hate is a rather strong word, don’t you think?” Being in denial about the sharp tone that Ritsu’s voice is starting to take on seems like a great idea for now. “And you look so cute in my sweater like that, besides…” 

“I’d rather burn it than wear it. You’re a horrible gross bug and I’m going to scream pervert if you don’t let me go.”

“Ahah, that would be really mean of you, Ritsu. I’m just trying to keep you warm, you used to like things like this!”

“I used to like you.” Ritsu tries to pull out of Rei’s hold, curling protectively around the cold, hurt lump in his belly. “You used to be someone I thought was awesome. Now you’re just...this. Leave me alone.”

Rei hesitates, loosening his hold for the first time enough to slowly sit back. “Ritsu—I know I was gone for awhile, but I’m back now for good. I’m sorry that I couldn’t stay in touch, I just wasn’t…I needed some time away.” 

“I don’t care.” A lie so strong Ritsu tastes bile at the back of his throat. “Take all the time you want. Whatever. Go back to England.” He turns over, hand digging at the ground to pull him away, jaw tense and unhappy.

“Ritsu—Ritsu, no, come back here,” Rei pleads, crawling after him and grabbing at the back of his shirt to keep him from getting too far. “I know why you’re mad at me, and…and that’s fine, but I _will_  make it up for you, I promise. Just let me try, at least; whatever you want, I’ll do it.” 

“If I had _anything_ to throw at you right now, I would!” 

Ritsu kicks, and connects with Rei’s thigh, hissing viciously and scrabbling away as quickly as he can, suddenly frantic, determined to get as far away from the person he used to idolize as possible. “I hate you, I _hate_ you, you left me all alone and you don’t care about me at all so I _hate_ you!”

Rei lets him go, less because he’s been kicked—though that hurts like a _bitch,_ Ritsu is far stronger than he looks—and more because the bite behind Ritsu’s words makes him flinch back, entirely unable to grab and hold him still. “I love you,” he blurts out, feeling the awkward weight of those words as soon as he says them, and struggles to smooth them over after the fact. “I care about you more than anything in the world—“ _Right, because that’s less disgusting._ “I just—Ritsu, so _many_  bad things happened at once, there wasn’t anything I could do but leave. Please, just listen to me.”

Ritsu struggles with all the strength of a little brother who’s unconcerned with causing damage, who deep down believes that his big brother is the coolest and strongest in all the world, kicking and shoving and biting, curling away from Rei’s hands. “I don’t wanna hear _anything_ from you, everything you say is a lie, I’d rather sleep on the ground outside than in a house with you!”

“Ritsu, if I had stayed, I would have been a million times worse than how I am now!” Rei gives up and shoves his weight around, grabbing Ritsu by the shoulders to pin him down, flat onto his back. His own chest heaves, and he stares down at him, trying not to start sniffling when his eyes sting. “If you don’t believe me, then _you_  go home and _you_  sleep in the house and I’ll stay out on the ground. I just…I want you to be happy.” 

“Liar. You don’t care anything about me.” Ritsu’s voice sounds rough, torn and ragged, and he avoids his brother’s eyes at all cost, not wanting to look into that familiar face and see this horrible _stranger_. “F-fine, let me go, I’ll go home--you can sleep in the garbage for all I care.”

“You can keep saying that I don’t care all you want, but it isn’t going to make it true,” Rei wearily says, releasing Ritsu after another, tense moment. “Just…tell Mom that I’m staying at school for the night. She’s worried about you.” 

“Whatever.” For a bizarre, contrary moment, Ritsu hesitates, hoping that Rei will grab him again, not let him go, explain everything _correctly_ , and everything will make sense again for the first time in a year.

But Rei really doesn’t understand him anymore, after all. 

He gets up, casting a pained, furious look down at his brother. “Sleeping on the ground is better than you deserve, anyway.”

_You’d think I was even worse if I had stayed here_ , Rei wants to insist, but the words clog in his throat. “Probably,” he agrees, because it isn’t as if Ritsu is wrong about that sort of thing; he’s just wrong about him not caring. “Ah—are you going to come watch us perform?” Rei hesitantly, but no less eagerly asks. “I’ll make sure you get the best seats—“ 

“If I feel like coming,” Ritsu interrupts, “I’ll get them a different way.” There’s more he wants to say--wants to tell Rei about Knights, wants to tell him about everything that happened while he was gone, about how he’s a different person now, about how frustrated he’d been to be held back and how much he wants to get better, about how hungry and sick he feels all the time, about how he’d enjoyed a movie he’d watched with Mao last week, about anything in his life for a _year_ \--

But Rei doesn’t care. He hasn’t asked. He hadn’t called, or written, or come immediately into his room to put his face on the ground and make things like they _used to be_ , and that’s what the perfect, cool, smart, talented, beloved older brother he’s been missing for a year would have done. 

So whoever this pod person is--probably some kind of gross bug creature--he can just die instead. Ritsu pulls a half dozen sweaters closer around him, then heads off into the night, feet stumbling a little when tears cloud his eyes and he can’t see the ground.

There are half a dozen things on Rei’s tongue that he wants to say, wants to try to _fix_ , but they all stick there, and he’s left staring after Ritsu for an obnoxiously long period of time. 

_You know, maybe, if you had just kissed him—_

Telling his brain ‘whoa there’ is never effective, least of all in this case. Rei hastily shoves that thought aside, reminding himself that his mother would probably like that (“It’s keeping our excellent bloodline pure, if you aren’t going to climb into my bed!”). He quickly turns away, not even allowing himself to look at Ritsu’s back anymore as he makes his way to the Light Music Club room in the middle of the night, fishing out the keys to let himself in.

…Only to find the door is already…unlocked. Peculiar. Did he forget to do that? No, he wouldn’t have, not with so many instruments inside… 

Rei slinks his way inside, shutting the door behind himself. “It’s too late for someone to try and steal things, so please,” he tiredly says. “Don’t?” Great fighting words from an ex-street punk, he thinks, stifling a yawn as he turns to lock the door.

Slowly, two orange-topped heads rise from behind the piano, where they’d scurried nimbly at the first sound. The faces aren’t _quite_ identical--or rather, they would be, if one of them weren’t currently marred by a dark bruise creeping over one eye and swelling it shut. Nevertheless, that’s the one that puts on a big, shining smile, attempting to duck behind his falling hair (a more cynical person might think this boy grew his hair long for reasons just like this). “A-ah, Light Music Club Buchou, right? Sorry, we didn’t think there’d be anyone here--it’s a prank, you know! Yuuta, I told you it wasn’t a good idea to play tricks on him!”

“Aniki, this was your idea!” Yuuta whines, looking fretfully over the piano at Rei once more. “Don’t try to pin it on me, I told you we should’ve just stayed outside tonight!”

Rei blinks a few times, taking in the sight of the twins—ah, yes, the cute little additions to his club, he remembers now—and how something is just not quite right here. The nervous energy would be more than enough to tell him that if not for Hinata’s black eye, and Rei calmly walks over to his coffin, heaving the lid off of it to get to the mini fridge that was entirely necessary to install. “Hinata-kun, wasn’t it? Come here, this old man has ice packs for his aching back that you can borrow.”

The idea of an ice pack sounds really nice, but Hinata hangs back, close enough to Yuuta to be able to jump in front of him again if need be. Older men aren’t always to be trusted, and even if he’s a student, Sakuma Rei is pretty much an adult. “It’s fine, we’ve got somewhere else to be. C’mon, Yuuta, we should see if Mr. Zhang has space for us tonight after all, he won’t mind if we clean the ovens.”

Yuuta hesitates, one hand coming up to grab at the back of Hinata’s shirt. “But you said we couldn’t go to see Mr. Zhang because you don’t want him to put that weird smelly paste on your black eye this time…” 

“For what it’s worth, I’ve always wanted a proper sleepover here,” Rei pipes up, producing the ice pack and setting it down onto a table several paces away before retreating to rummage through a nearby storage closet. “I _know_  I have blankets and pillows stowed away. Before I went overseas, I used to be the _king_  of building pillow forts.” 

In the three seconds Rei’s back is turned, Hinata dashes towards the ice pack, then leaps back over the piano bench, hunkering down next to Yuuta. He’s about to protest, to drag Yuuta outside anyway and take his chance with ancient herbal Chinese secrets, when he looks out the window, and his heart sinks.

It’s raining, _hard_ , and still early enough in the year that it’ll be freezing outside. If Mr. Zhang isn’t home, it’ll be a bitterly terrible night on the streets. He sighs, and gingerly holds the ice pack against his swollen left eye. “Y-yeah, okay. That sounds kinda cool, I guess.”

Rei spares a glance out of the window and winces. “Ahh…I hope Ritsu is okay getting home,” he frets, pulling out a _very_  sizable stack of blankets from the closet, and following up with way too many pillows for three people, let alone the single entity that he used to be, building up refuge from the sun. “Have you two met my little brother yet? He’s very cute. I’d say ‘almost as cute as Hinata-kun’s little brother’, but I’m biased, so I think Ritsu’s cuter,” he says with a laugh. “Big brothers have to be that way.”

Yuuta warily peers around Hinata, then pokes at his side as if to say _this doesn’t seem so bad._  When they’d first joined the Light Music Club, Sakuma Rei had seemed _very_  scary, and immediate thoughts of _maybe we should drop out_  came to mind, but…

Hinata’s chest aches almost as much as his eye. Yuuta is so _trusting_ , the faint echo of himself that he misses on every cold night. But someone’s got to be the tough one, the risk-taker, so he nods reassuringly, even if he’s keeping an eye on Sakuma Rei. “Sounds like fun, right? You always wanted to do pillow fort stuff. Ah, Sakuma-sempai’s little brother...is in 2-B, right?”

“Mm, mm, though he should be in 3-B—I suppose it was too much to ask for him not to be held back just like me,” Rei says, shrugging helplessly as he starts arranging two very acceptable bed-like structures with all of the pillows and blankets, and drags over a couple of chairs to make a proper canopy beyond that. “You two can set it up however you like, but here’s your base—are you hungry?” he suddenly adds, right as Yuuta’s stomach growls.

_Sorry, Aniki!_  Yuuta winces, clinging tighter to the back of Hinata’s shirt. 

“Because I was already thinking of a late night conbini run…that’s how you know I’m a real musician, time of day doesn’t matter,” Rei cheerfully says, pulling out one of the many umbrellas stashed in a canister near the door. “So who likes what, hmm? I’ll go so you two can get settled in.”

“I like sweets,” Hinata says, licking his lips. “But Yuuta likes spicy foods--if it’s conbini, he likes mapo tofu.” He grabs his school bag, the special one with an extra compartment, with the extra change of clothes he always carries with him just in case. “Here, I’ve got five hundred yen--mapo tofu is 394, I like the custard that’s 98.”

Rei sets the keys to the club room down on the piano bench, and flips the lock on the door to let himself out, ignoring Hinata’s offered change. “I’ll be back in a few minutes—lock the door behind me so no one bothers you, and stay warm.”

He leaves, the door clicking shut behind him, and Yuuta stares nervously at his brother. “I mean…” he warily says. “He _seems_  nice…”

“Yeah, he seems really cool!” _Seems_ is the operative word, but Hinata’s really, really good at smiling by now. If anything goes wrong here, he can always protect Yuuta. He’s good at it. And hey, maybe Sakuma Rei really is as cool as he seems, and they’ll have another warm dry place out of the rain when they need one. “Eh, he didn’t take my money, though...here, I’ll put it in his sheet music so he finds it later.” Smiling hurts his face, but he does it anyway.

“Just keep it, he’s probably rich like everyone else at this school anyway—and we might need it later,” Yuuta quietly points out, unattaching himself from Hinata to go and investigate the beginnings of the pillow fort. It certainly _looks_  comfortable, and when he flops down onto the pillows, he isn’t disappointed. “Ahhh…this is actually really nice. I wonder why he’s got so many pillows and things here.” He yawns hugely, burrowing himself slowly down into the pile. “Your eye looks a little better now, Aniki. I’m…I’m really sorry, by the way.” He never feels right about Hinata trying to protect him, but Hinata won’t _stop._

Hinata flops down onto the pillows, stretching out with a huge yawn, ignoring the apology. “Ahhh, it’s super comfy, right? Heh, aren’t you glad we didn’t quit the light music club? Sakuma-san is actually super cool after all.” 

He holds one hand on the ice pack over his eye, and reaches for Yuuta’s hand with the other, squeezing it gently. “It’ll get better in a couple days. He’ll forget. He always does, after a while. I’ll go back first and see if he’s home.”

Yuuta frowns at that. “But I don’t want him to get mad at you again,” he hedges, squeezing Hinata’s hand. “It’s not fair, why does he always—“

The club room door creaks open again, and with it comes a swift downpour of rain. “Whyyy, ruining a perfectly good night,” Rei laments, shaking off rather like a dog as he folds up his umbrella and shoves the door shut behind himself against the wind and rain, a pair of plastic bags swinging from his wrists. “I told you two to lock the door behind me! Imagine what other kind of creepy crawlies could crash our slumber party, honestly…”

Hinata’s stomach growls loudly, and he tightens his core muscles, forcing down the sound the way Mr. Zhang had taught him. “Sorry, Buchou--but don’t worry, we’d take care of any creepy crawlies, consider us your personal exterminators in exchange for the sleeping room!”

“Ooh, I’m building an army, how delightful.” Rei kneels down outside of the pillow fort, sorting out his haul. “Mapo tofu for—Yuuta-kun, was it? I’ve got a terrible memory, you’re going to have to bear with me—and custard for Hinata-kun…but one can’t survive on custard alone, not in _my_  club. They were low on most things, but I figured I couldn’t go wrong with conbini curry.” He plops it all down along with a couple of bottles of water, peers underneath the overhanging blankets once just to make sure that they’re still in one piece, and then climbs to his feet, dusting off his knees. “If it isn’t going to bother the two of you, I have some practicing to do—just tell me to stop when you’re ready to sleep.”

Hinata’s mouth curls up a bit at the thought that music would keep them from sleeping, after all the ruckus they usually hear. He breaks out the curry, wrinkling his nose and passing it over to Yuuta, even as his mouth waters at the smell. “You like spicy things a lot more, so you eat this one, too.” _And I know you get too shaky to eat at home. Just like I do._

“You used to love curry, don’t be weird,” Yuuta complains, snatching up his tofu and cracking apart his chopsticks with gusto. “I might eat a bite of it, but you gotta stop being picky, or Dad’s gonna be annoyed.” 

“Yeah, I’d hate it if he got mad,” Hinata says, rolling his eyes. Finally, he grabs a pair of chopsticks, unable to pretend he isn’t hungry anymore when the smell is so seductive. “I guess I’ll force some of it down. Ah, thanks for the meal, Buchou!”

Yuuta glowers at him, and Rei waves a dismissive hand that the twins can’t see as he flips open his violin case. “Of course! My army has to be well-fed and powerful.”

Tonight’s schedule consists of copious amounts of Ernst—not his favorite, but one must practice the things they hate on occasion if they’re ever going to love them. Rei leaves the etude book open on the piano, tapping out an A to refresh his ear against the pounding rain outside, and starts in on his own personal music hell to drown out the thoughts of _how to deal with Ritsu, how to fix literally anything, I have now acquired two abused children._

“…Buchou’s real good,” Yuuta murmurs around a mouthful of tofu, sneaking his chopsticks over to steal a bit of curry-soaked rice. “Maybe he’ll help us get our unit going strong, huh?”

Hinata’s instinct is to hesitate, but he ignores it ruthlessly. The old him would have hesitated, unsure if he should impose. The way he is now, he can’t afford to do that. “Hey, Buchou?” he calls, swallowing around a delicious mouthful of potato, turning to incidentally put himself between Rei and Yuuta, just in case Rei is annoyed about being interrupted. “Do you write music too, or just play it like an angel?”

“You’re going to be a charmer when you grow up,” Rei teases, even though he doesn’t pause, and sighs, frustrated at an error that only he notices, so he backs up, redoing the passage. “I used to write the music for all of the units here—well, all of the ones I liked,” he amends with a laugh. 

“See?” Yuuta whispers, poking at Hinata’s back. “Ask him, ask him!”

“Shh, I’m asking, I’m asking!” Hinata smiles brightly, letting the ice pack drop, now that it’s more wet and cool than pleasantly freezing. “Hey, Buchou...do you maybe have any old songs that might make good remixes? Something that could have a good dance beat, maybe? Yuuta and I are really better dancers than singers, and it’s really hard to find good original music like that.”

Rei thinks for a moment, then sets his violin down atop the piano, stopping mid-phrase. “I wrote a couple of things while I was in England—the two of you are starting your own unit, right?” He lunges for his bag, immediately rummaging through it. “Hinata-kun, toss that ice pack back into the fridge in my coffin, there’s another one in there, if you want it—and come sit out here, I’ll play a couple of things for you and you can tell me what you think.” 

Hinata slurps up the rest of the curry, then does as Rei says, pushing the ice pack into the fridge, saving the other one for later. “Stay here,” he says quietly to Yuuta, and moves out to sit next to Rei. “I keep trying to think of a unit name. All the ones I think of are either really dumb or really pretentious, too much for a cute unit of first-year dancing twins, you know?”

“Hmmm…” Rei plops down a messy book of crumpled manuscript paper onto the piano, tossing Ernst aside without a second thought. He flips through a few pages of his surprisingly neat, perfect score writing, most of it looking like it was actually printed out from a computer. “We’ll come up with something cute. Now, bear with me, I know you want dance music, so assume techno remixing when I play anything for you.” 

“Sure, sure. As long as it’s got a nice...” Hinata scans over the sheet music, already shifting it around in his head, humming the tune before Rei starts playing. “Ooh, this looks kinda cool, what kind of base line would you put on this?”

Rei nearly tears up—no, there’s no ‘nearly’ about it, he absolutely does. “You can actually _read_ ,” he huffs, hanging his head. “You would think that wouldn’t be such a shocker at this school, but, _ugh_. What a good child. Here, here, let me play it for you—“

He immediately sets his hands to the piano, shifting the tempo up a bit when, yes, of _course_  this would be cute as a more upbeat dance song, and adds the base line as he goes along. “I wrote this for a tenor, but you’ve still got a higher range—your brother, too? Ahh, you two will be so cute…“

Hinata’s emotions soar--this might be the first time something good had happened out of one of his father’s rages that he can ever remember. “This would be _perfect_ \--you seriously wrote this? Sakuma-sempai...Buchou, you’re a genius!” He beams up, even his swollen eye crinkling at the edges, even if that makes him wince a little. “Could we honestly perform this one? You wouldn’t mind?”

“No, please, please, I _want_  you to—I have…three, four more songs that might work for you two?” Rei pauses, flipping through his book. “Mm, four, I think. And if you need more, I’m always writing, all you have to do is ask.”

Yuuta’s head slowly pokes out from the pillow fort, and he slinks out a few centimeters, then a few more. “Can we write the lyrics?”

“Of course you can. I have a book of ideas, but sometimes it’s better to start fresh, and they’ll be your songs, besides.” Rei absently lifts a hand to pet and rub the top of Hinata’s head as he picks his way through the bass line again, and then pulls a pen from the recesses of his sweater pockets to write it down. “I’ll see about booking the mixing studio this week…ah, I suppose we have to get your unit approved first. Well, you’re cute, Tenshouin probably won’t pay you any mind.”

“We’re good at looking cute and harmless,” Hinata assures him, enjoying the petting more than he’d expected. Rei has a nice touch, cool and gentle without being damp or limp, and he waves Yuuta closer. “Hey, Yuuta-kun, come over and look at the music with me, I think you’ll like it. I’m not the only musician, Buchou. Yuuta-kun is better at the lyrics, after all. He’s so smart!” Maybe he’s trying to embarrass Yuuta, just a bit, but there’s a great deal of honesty in his glowing commendation.

“Anikiiii, quit it,” Yuuta whines, even as he hauls himself to his feet and trots over, plastering himself on the other side of Rei on the piano bench. If Hinata is sitting there and letting himself be petted, then it must be fine. “You’re the better singer, even though you keep saying you’re bad at it.”

“It sounds like you have the whole package between the two of you,” Rei hums, switching hands to pet the top of Yuuta’s head next. “Our president will approve your unit, I’m sure. Ah, but a name, a name…” He pulls his hand away to flip through to another earmarked page in his manuscripts, and starts playing through it automatically. “Twins, something cute, not pretentious. I’ll have to sleep on it, truth be told, I’m terrible at naming things.”

Hinata reaches out, starting to plunk through the tune a couple notes at a time, “Sorry, I’m better on strings,” he murmurs absently, focusing hard on the music. “Yuuta-kun, help me with the bass, you’re better at that. Maybe something like Binary Star? You know, because it looks like just one really bright one from far away, but...I dunno, I told you, everything I think of is pretentious, ugh!”

“Aniki takes this kinda stuff really seriously,” Yuuta informs Rei, shifting to hesitantly put his fingers on the piano keys, even though he’s _really_  not up to being embarrassed in front of someone as good as Sakuma Rei. “Ahh, I dunno about this…” 

“Mm, here, I’ll get out of the way,” Rei says, sliding off of the piano bench to give them both more room, and sets out the music properly on the piano’s stand. “Shall I play the vocals on violin? Don’t worry, you can’t mess it up,” he reassures Yuuta the moment he opens his mouth to protest, and gives his shoulder a light squeeze. “Do you two have a color scheme picked out? If you need a designer, I’m _sure_  I can find someone…”

“Pink and aqua,” Hinata says, scooting closer to Yuuta on the piano bench as Rei moves to the violin. “It’s super hard to find colors that won’t clash with our hair, you know? And they go together really well. Ah, Yuuta-kun, you play through that, I’m gonna show Buchou our sketches for the costumes.”

Yuuta heaves a sigh, but nods, settling down at the piano with obviously more skill than he really thinks that he has. “The sketches _do_  look really awesome.”

“You two came to _win_ , didn’t you?” Rei says, pleasantly surprised as he picks up his violin again. “Show me, show me. Ah, you remind me of how I was when I was a first year, so ready to take this entire school by storm…”

Hinata shakes his head firmly, even if that makes the swollen skin throb. “No way, Buchou. We’re here to become way better idols so we can make a lot of money, not to get into the politics and stuff. We just want to sing and dance and make good memories!” It sounds good, and he’s rehearsed it several times, which is why the student council had barely blinked at him when he’d submitted his request to make a new unit. 

Rei stares at him, and slowly sets his violin down again before promptly snatching Hinata up into a tight hug. “ _Look_  at you, you’re so cute,” he sighs, furiously petting Hinata’s hair. “Such a good boy. Such a smart child. I’m keeping both of you, let me write all of your music—UNDEAD never uses their practice rooms for the full time, so save your school credit and just use ours in the meantime—ah, let me spoil you, I have _ideas_ —“

“Aniki’s gonna get smothered,” Yuuta observes, cracking a real smile for the first time that night.

Hinata laughs, startled into dropping his guard, which...well, could be worse. His instincts about people had served them well with Mr. Zhang, so maybe, just maybe, this isn’t such a bad thing after all. For just a minute, he buries his aching face in Rei’s chest, hugging him back tightly. “Joining the Light Music Club was the right idea, right? All my idea, of course! You’re welcome, Yuuta-kun!”

“Ehhh, I wanted to join, too, you can’t just take all the credit!” Yuuta huffs, sliding away from the piano to latch onto his brother from behind, and subsequently end up as a part of Rei’s intense hugging session. “Wow, Buchou, you’re stronger than you look,” he wheezes.

“All the better to incubate you!”

“W-what?”

“Exactly. Now I’m inspired, I have to fix all of this up for recording this week…” Rei trails off, squeezing both twins once more before releasing them and diving back for the piano. “It’s going to be a long night, so feel free to tap out at any point—otherwise, keep me company, and you’ll have an _arsenal._ ”


	5. Chapter 5

Not going home for about a week poses a set of problems that has nothing to do with whether or not he has a clean uniform waiting for him in the Light Music Club every single day.

Mostly, it has to do with his mother, with Ritsu, and whether or not he’s performing in a way that his mother thinks is ‘responsible’ now that he’s back from England and attempting to graduate and become _actually_ famous, not Yumenosaki famous. There’s a big difference, and it makes Rei grind his teeth when his mother keeps trying to meddle. 

How many voice messages did he receive just before the night of UNDEAD’S first performance since his return? Five. Five, all of them including some mix of:

“Why aren’t you home to take care of your brother?”

“Is it because you have a girlfriend?”

“Your family needs you!”

“It’s time to step up and take responsibility now that you’re home!”

“Your mother needs you, too, you know~”

  


Rei wishes he had never come back from England, honestly, and he locks his phone up into a compartment in his coffin, pretending that it doesn’t exist (an act that produces some amusing results at this school).

Focusing on his rebellion comes first and foremost. Training up Trickstar, the unit Isara Mao has chosen to join up with, is his first task, followed shortly by the Aoi twins—now known as 2wink, which is literally the cutest—and finally, UNDEAD. UNDEAD, fortunately, is self-sufficient, even if the addition of a second year foreigner named Otogari Adonis is, well…more trouble than it’s really worth, even if he has the look entirely. 

But he’s a baritone, and Rei will tolerate quite a bit for a true baritone. 

The night of the Dream Fes arrives, and the look on Hasumi Keito’s face is delightful, to say the least. _I warned you!_ Rei wants to shout. _I warned you that I wouldn’t come back and lie down and let Tenshouin destroy everything, I warned you if he hurt my friends, this would be the result._ Of all people, Keito should expect this from him, but… 

The important thing is results, and Trickstar wins, and UNDEAD comes in a resounding third place. Out of three. 

Intentional as it may have been, Rei does feel sort of…what’s the word. Annoyed doesn’t quite cut it, maybe disgruntled? Splitting the vote was the idea, of course, but the real hairs were split between Trickstar and Akatsuki, and UNDEAD was an afterthought. That just won’t do—UNDEAD has been inactive for too long, their fanbase is uninspired, Trickstar is fresh and new and Akatsuki is polished and marketed well—and it’s why Rei sits and schemes for a solid three days after that before he finally emerges, ending up in 3-A’s classroom before the bell rings, all smiles, all rumpled sweaters and barely tied ties, plus or minus a parasol indoors. 

“Good morning, Kaoru-kun.” He plops himself down into what he knows is Tenshouin Eichi’s seat, because the bastard is still in the hospital, and that’s kind of amusing. “How has all of your practice been going?” 

Kaoru rubs the back of his neck, the hairs there standing on edge for what feels like no reason. He’d bummed some of Izumi’s foundation today, just for those dark bits under his eyes that won’t go away when he’s been unsatisfied, annoyed all night. 

Competition isn’t supposed to mean much to him. It never has meant much, and he’s always been happy just to perform, just to get all the girls who come to the Lives looking to get close to a cool idol who actually wants to give them the time of day. He’s always been thrilled with that, always enjoyed the attention mor than everything...

But damn, why isn’t anyone talking about it?

All anyone can talk about is that _Akatsuki has fallen_ , that _there’s a new unit in town, Trickstar is the new champion!_

Yeah, well, those kids are cute and all, but where would they be without UNDEAD’s help?

“Fine, I guess,” he sighs, tilting back in his chair. “Sakuma-san, you’re in the wrong seat. In the wrong room, actually.”

“Am I? I didn’t notice.” Rei smiles underneath the shadow of his parasol, content only underneath that even when he’s indoors because the sun is shining and his life is terrible. “How else am I supposed to find you? You disappeared on me after our performance, and you never come to practice, imagine.” 

“Ehh, I was busy after that performance. She was so cute, her name was...ahh, I think it was Miko, or something. So cute.” Kaoru’s smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, so he lets all four legs of his chair hit the floor, slumping forward to rest his chin on one hand. “Just promise me we’ll win the next Live, okay?”

“If you want to win so badly, then I have a proposition for you.” 

Rei leans forward, sitting backwards in Eichi’s chair, his own chin plopping down into his hand so that he’s a mere few centimeters from Kaoru’s face. “Fantastic music and a marketable sound will only get you so far in the idol industry. Everyone knows we sound good already, so we need something different—to put it uncouthly, a publicity stunt.”

“Sounds good,” Kaoru says, though he doesn’t exactly trust Rei, and some of that comes across in his voice. There was a time that he’d have agreed with no reservations, but...well, that was with his cool sempai, not with the super weird guy who’d returned from England. Then again, this one doesn’t make him go to practice either, so none of them are all that bad. “Like what?”

“I thought about a couple of ideas, and some of them we’ll _also_  do, in conjunction with my main plan, but…” Rei smiles brightly at Kaoru. “We should pretend to be dating.” 

Kaoru tilts his head, then very slowly inserts a finger in one ear, pretending to clear out a lump of wax. “Okay, one more time. Come again?”

“I think we should pretend to date.” Rei’s smile doesn’t waver, patient and easy. “Our fans already draw doujinshi of it. And…other, less savory things, but the point is—if we’re all over one another on and off stage, more and more girls will buy our goods and come to our shows and vote for us, thus funding our Lives and our success as a whole.” 

“Uh huh.” Kaoru isn’t sure whether to smile or not, so it hovers uncertainly, a ghost of an emotion on his mouth. “Okay, but I don’t want to? I don’t want to be all over you, because you’re a guy? I like girls.”

Rei was _hoping_  it wouldn’t come to this, but alas, Kaoru is as difficult as always. It’s unfortunate that he’s thought far enough ahead in this plan, but it’s a _necessity_  for it to go through on about five different levels, as far as he’s concerned. “Ahh, so you’d lie even to me, your great leader.” 

Kaoru laughs, eyes crinkling at the edges in genuine mirth. “Oh, man, am I being that secretive about my tastes? Or did you just not know me that well before you left...here, I’ve got a _lot_ of cute pics on my phone, wanna see?” He starts flipping through pictures of himself with girl after girl. “This one is Miko, this one is, ah, Shiori, this one is...um, Bun-chan, this one is...aw, shit, I knew it yesterday--”

Rei stares back at him, nonplussed. “Do you really think that the Oddballs don’t talk to each other at length, Kaoru-kun?” 

Icewater flushes through Kaoru’s veins, but he doesn’t let his smile falter. “Eh? Is someone teasing you, Sakuma-san?” _Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit_ \--

He tries not to, but his eyes dart sideways to Chiaki’s (thankfully) still-empty seat. Good, no witnesses yet.

The way Kaoru’s pulse falters, then thuds so much more rapidly makes it clear to Rei—even if he _didn’t_  trust the words out of Shinkai Kanata’s mouth—that he’s right on track. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell a soul. Certainly not Morisawa-kun…well. For now, I won’t.” He blinks languidly, stifling a yawn. “It seems like it might be in your best interest to go along with my plan.” 

Kaoru’s eyes sharpen, and he leans forward, brows creased a little, elbows on the desk. “Yo, I always thought you were cool? But this is like, really kinda cruel, honestly. And kinda sad--why don’t you just get a boyfriend?”

Rei blinks back at him. “Because that’s missing the point entirely. This is about UNDEAD, not me.” 

“Date Koga, he actually wants you.” A little cutting, but Kaoru is past being bothered at this point.

The face Rei makes is very telling. “He’s like my _child._  Are you still missing the part where it’s _fake?_  He could never just be fake about it.”

“Then draft Adonis, I literally do not want to do it. You’re a guy, that wouldn’t turn me on at all.”

“You’ve apparently never had issues with men in the past.”

“Shh!” Kaoru leans in farther, a little frantic now. “God, be _quiet_ , that’s not--it was one night, I was drunk, haven’t you ever made a mistake before?”

Rei tsks sadly. “Kanata-kun would be very upset to hear that you think he’s a mistake.”

“Can we...maybe talk about this later?” Kaoru hisses. “Somewhere private? Any second, we could--”

“Gooooood _morning_ , Class 3-A!” booms the voice of Morisawa Chiaki as it does every morning, the door banging against the wall as he throws it open. “Hope everyone’s ready to learn in a good mood today!”

Rei smiles placatingly, and climbs to his feet. “Well,” he cheerfully says. “I suppose I should go then! We’ll have to meet up at lunch, Kaoru-kun~” The sing-song of Kaoru’s name comes when he bends to plant a kiss neatly to Kaoru’s cheek. “If you’re feeling sweet, you could always be my bento.” 

Kaoru laughs nervously, looking around to see if anyone saw--but wouldn’t making a scene be even worse? “Always a joker, Sakuma-san! See you at lunch!”

Rei waits for the inevitable at lunch, which is a Kaoru-kun that is all smiles, and all stress lines around his eyes.

He yawns underneath his parasol, settling down underneath the shade of an alcove, and sips slowly at his box of tomato juice. “You look cross,” he greets. “Are you still contemplating your fate?”

“So, let’s make a compromise,” Kaoru says, completely false in his cheer, straddling a chair near Rei in the alcove. “If you don’t tell anyone my really personal secrets, I won’t quit UNDEAD.”

Rei laughs outright at that. “Cute, but no, thank you,” he says, slurping on his box of juice. “I know you need to stay in a unit to graduate, and no other unit will have you, or pass you in your idol courses if you want to keep to your leisurely practice schedule.” 

“Super rude to assume no other unit would have me,” Kaoru says with an injured hand held to his chest. “I’m cute. Maybe I could be a Ra*bit, Nazuna-kun likes me. It’d still be better than staying somewhere where I’m being blackmailed.”

“I shouldn’t have had to blackmail you. You should be loyal enough to your unit to agree.” Rei sighs, staring over at him sadly. “Honestly, Kaoru-kun. It isn’t as if I’m asking you to do this forever. Just for a month, that’s all I’m asking, and then we can call it off and be the source of a great deal of angst and drama.”

“But...” _But I don’t like guys_ , Kaoru wants to whine, but damn, he really doesn’t want to hear Rei bring up that night with Kanata again. Instead, he lowers his voice and says urgently, “If I say yes to this...I just need you to know that it’s only because I don’t want Chiaki-kun to get upset. Because it’s not, like, any worse to have people think that I was with him than that I’m with you. So you’re holding me hostage because I don’t wanna hurt anyone’s feelings, which is kinda crappy of you.”

“It is,” Rei agrees, his eyebrows lifting. “I’m aware of that. But you see, Kaoru-kun, I’m somewhat desperate. I might have lied a little bit earlier as well; this isn’t _just_  for UNDEAD. You’d be doing me a great service as well.” 

“Uh huh.” Kaoru leans back in his chair, stretching out his legs. “I figure it’s something about parents? But why would you _want_ them to think you’re a homo?”

“Because if I don’t, I have to get married. Immediately. As in, last week.” 

“Oh... _shit_ , seriously? Are you even--that’s right, you’re eighteen, but like... _why_?” Kaoru’s eyes are huge, and he leans forward again, sort of fascinated. “Is it a vampire thing?”

“Yes, actually.” Rei winces. “A very specific vampire thing. My mother…well, she has very particular views on keeping her bloodline pure.” 

Kaoru sucks in a breath, wincing. From what he’s heard about Rei’s family, this is gonna be pretty weird. “Gross. Butterface cousin, huh? Heh, I’ve got some of that in my family, you know...”

Does he say it? Sure, why not. It’s time to freak Kaoru out for the umpteenth time. Maybe the results will be better, and he’ll be more sympathetic to his cause. “Try being expected to marry your own mother.” 

Kaoru’s eyes widen, and he runs his tongue over his teeth. “Wow...yikes. Seriously, yikes. And if I...if we pretend we’re dating, you don’t have to? Even if it’s just for a month?”

Rei slurps out the last of his tomato juice. “Then she’ll believe that I’m gay, at least, so it’ll be a step in the right direction. Bonus points include that you aren’t her type—blood or personality-wise—so if I bring you to our house, she won’t eat you.”

“Uh...okay.” Kaoru drags his hands down his face, groaning deeply like a dying whale. “Why don’t we just do it at your house, then? I’ll do it at your house all you want, but like...I’ve got a _lot_ of dates with girls planned for this month...with girls...”

“So be a hot, bisexual two-timer.” Rei smiles, tilting his head. “I told you—the priority here is UNDEAD. My own issues here are secondary. Don’t you want to bury the student council, Kaoru-kun?” 

Kaoru folds his hands, looking warily at Rei. “Okay. Lay it out for me. How does letting you grab my butt on stage help UNDEAD crush the student council? I need, like, a step-by-step.”

Rei’s sigh is a patient one. “Honestly…like I told you before, it’s a publicity stunt. You _know_  girls think that two attractive men going at it is hot, right? This is common knowledge.” 

“Yeah, but...we’re popular. And we’re good at music, and we’re all sexy. So why do we need that?”

“Because being good at music and being sexy isn’t enough when you were popular over a year ago and are trying to make a comeback. Not with Tenshouin Eichi’s current system.” Rei shrugs. “It’s an easy fix to a stupid problem. Why _shouldn’t_  we rile our fans up a bit more? Adding to the intrigue and being even edgier sounds fun, personally.” 

“But....” But all Kaoru can think of to protest is _I don’t want toooo_ , and that just sounds really whiny. Well, then why not just accept the inevitable, with all the good grace he has left? He sighs, then leans over, deciding to get it over with quickly. With one swift motion, he plants a firm kiss on Rei’s mouth, with only the tiniest of winces.

Rei blinks, genuinely surprised that Kaoru decided to resign himself without any more protests. How…nice. He sighs, tosses his juice box aside, and grabs for Kaoru’s tie. “Is that how you’re going to kiss me on stage, Kaoru-kun?” he teases. “How chaste.”

Kaoru huffs. “You want my first kiss to be one where you get my tongue down your throat? We work up to stuff like that when I’m your cute, strong, handsome boyfriend. Get used to being romanced.”

“ _Romanced?_ ” Rei can’t help but laugh, releasing Kaoru with a huff of a sigh. “My goodness, I can’t wait. If you’re the cute, strong, handsome one, what does that make me?” 

“Uh, you’re the pretty girl, obviously.” Kaoru reaches over to tap Rei on the nose, which itself isn’t too weird or freaky. It’s the same as a girl’s nose. He’s got this. “So, what’s our first date? Want to let me take control of this part? Heh, have you dated before?”

Rei stares at him, opening his mouth to inform Kaoru that _excuse you, I am not the pretty girl_ , but ah, that isn’t the most important part of this conversation, is it. “I…well. Not in so many words…” 

Ha, a little of his own back. That feels good. Kaoru pokes Rei with his toe, and says with a lot more confidence, “Then leave this part in my hands. When do you wanna go to your house to freak out your mom?”

“I have exactly two weeks to produce a boyfriend.” At least they aren’t talking about his lack of actual dating experience now. “Perhaps you should come with me near the end of that limit? So that we, ah, are _convincing_. I’ll need to drink from you at least once or twice, so that she really believes me, and if we’re actually comfortable enough to cuddle in front of her, then she _probably_  won’t press the issue…” 

“I can cuddle. I can even cuddle with a guy, I’m good at cuddling. It won’t turn me on, but I can do it. She seriously wants to watch that kind of thing?” Weird, but then again, this is the same mom who wanted to marry her son, so this definitely seems like the lesser of a few very strange evils.

Rei spreads his hands helplessly. “I didn’t say it was normal. I just know how to be convincing. You’re fine with me having a little drink, too, then? If she can’t smell that I have, then she’ll probably try to bite you herself.”

“We can go out for a drink,” Kaoru says, before thinking it through, and then he frowns. “Wait. You mean like, my blood.”

“Yes. Like your blood.” If they aren’t going to be honest with one another _now…_

Kaoru scowls, then holds out his arm. “Go on, then.”

Rei blinks at him, his head tilting slowly. “Really? Just like that? Ah, I was hoping I could have a sip from a more… _intimate_  spot,” he sighs, though he stares at Kaoru’s arm, genuinely tempted. “Arms are just…”

“Don’t push it too fast, Sakuma-san. Try not to send me screaming before we’ve gotten to first base...darling.”

“Kaoru-kun sounds so convincing when he says things like that,” Rei sighs, pressing a hand to his face when his cheeks flush. “Let me process this. I’ll have a drink later, doing it in public is never a good idea, either, though I truly appreciate the offer.” 

Kaoru smirks. At least he’d been able to pull one over on Rei, even if the effect hadn’t been exactly what he’d intended. “Sorry, are we moving too fast? Heh, we better go over some details before we try to pull this off in front of everyone. You wanna tell Otsukare-san and the Wan-chan about this, or just let them kinda hear about it from other people?”

“Oh, just let them hear about it from other people. Telling the pupper about my love life sounds like trying to teach him about the birds and bees, and Adonis-kun is…” Rei trails off, and leaves it at that. “Right, well. I suppose we can come up with the specifics of our whirlwind romance, however. As I said, my experience is scarce when it comes to dating, so that I’m placing upon you.” 

“Great. Any specifics you need for your mom?” Sounds weird to be talking about his bandmate’s gay love life to impress his mother, but Yumenosaki is _really_ strange. “Like, you want her to think you’re a virgin, not, what?”

Rei blinks back at him. “Oh, I’m not a virgin. That shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Ehhh, you said you’d never dated before!” Kaoru laughs, a little startled. “Sakuma-san is kind of a slut.”

“And Kaoru-kun is surprisingly rude,” Rei sniffs. “As if you’ve never rolled around with a girl that you weren’t specifically dating.”

“Now, _that’s_ the rude thing,” Kaoru complains. “I’d never take advantage of a cute girl like that. They’re all my girlfriends.” His voice drops, and he asks, a little eagerly, “Who was it? If we’re dating, you’d tell me.”

“Nosy.” Rei heaves a sigh, glancing aside, and then shrugs, knowing that this admission never goes well (for some reason!), so why not just be forthright from the start? “Hasumi Keito.” 

Kaoru snorts. “Okay, if you’re not gonna tell me, fine. I don’t see why it’s such a big deal, though. Mine was a super-cutie named Honoka, she had twintails and a little gap between her teeth that whistled in English class, and she always wore the shortest--”

“Kaoru-kun, I’m serious. Ugh, why does no one ever believe me?” Rei complains, raking his hair out of his face. “It was Hasumi Keito, and we both decided in middle school that we weren’t going to any high school as virgins. He was the only other member of my music club and I taught him shamisen and we—I—“ He pauses, and adds on a sigh, because he _knows_  he’s about to get teased—“I let him do whatever he wanted.” 

Kaoru stares at him for a minute, then laughs nervously. “You’re using that same too-forthcoming tone you use when you tell new people that you’re a vampire. Shit, are you serious? Has Fukukaichou-san actually been _inside_ you? _Wow_.”

“You can stop being impressed at any point now. Honestly, I have no idea why everyone reacts like that when I tell them, and apparently no one believes Hasumi-kun either…” 

“Um...because you’re one of the hottest guys in school--for a guy, anyway--and he’s an ultra-nerd? Kind of an odd couple. Oh, wait, didn’t you two have a unit together for like, a week?”

Rei picks and chooses what to respond to out of that. “Ahh, so Kaoru-kun _does_  think I’m one of the hottest. How fortunate. Don’t worry, Kaoru-kun,” he hums, leaning forward to tuck a strand of Kaoru’s hair behind his ears, “I’ve always thought you were attractive as well. Especially your thighs— _that_  would be why you’re always in leather, you’re welcome.”

“Even if you say that, you’re a guy, so it doesn’t...” Kaoru trails off, remembering with a sinking feeling that he’s actually _dating_ Rei now, so he can’t say things like that. He grimaces, and says instead, “I mean...yay. It’s good that you’re looking at my legs. Totally turns me on, even though you’re a guy.”

“Kaoru-kun, you’re going to have to work on that.”

“I know, I know, but you’re gonna have to put up with it if you wanna blackmail me into doing this.”

“Uh huh. Is that what you’re going to tell our fans that ask about our sex life? Because they will. And are you going to make that face when I kiss your neck on stage?”

Kaoru winks. “Not if you’re good at it.” See? He can do this. Totally.

“Sure. A test run is in order, then.” Rei leans forward, grabbing Kaoru by the tie as he brushes Kaoru’s hair out of the way with one hand and seamlessly nuzzles his face into his neck, mouthing a warm, sucking kiss right along the thud of his pulse.

O...kay. This could definitely be worse. Girls don’t usually go for the neck like this, and Kaoru finds himself giggling a little, feeling the warmth of Rei’s breath, the tickling of his hair, all a sudden delightful presence against him that makes him breathe. “A-ahhh, hnn, I guess that isn’t...too bad...” It makes his skin flush and tingle, so it’s definitely not too bad, even if Rei is a guy.

“No? Ah, lucky me…I was afraid I was out of practice,” Rei muses, nuzzling up behind Kaoru’s ear, and letting his teeth gently nip at the lobe of it. Kaoru, unlike most men, smells good at a _basic_  level. Not just his blood, but the subtle sweetness of his cologne and expensive hair conditioner makes Rei sort of want to bury his face into Kaoru’s neck for reasons other than ‘test runs.’ _A stern reminder that you’re a big homo!_  his mind cheerfully points out, and Rei has to roll his eyes at himself. “I bet,” he murmurs, kissing at Kaoru’s neck again, “you’d taste incredible.” 

Kaoru’s eyes unfocus, then focus again, and he fights the urge to push Rei away and whine, _stoooop it, you’re so bad!_ Jeez, one neck kiss from a dude and he’s already acting like a girl, how annoying. “You mean my blood?” he asks, raising an eyebrow as he pulls back. “Or a different bodily fluid?”

Rei slowly draws back with a smile, the swirling red of his eyes lidded. “Both.” 

And then the illusion is lost as he flops back with a laugh, fluttering a hand. “Too much? Or maybe just enough—UNDEAD’s reputation is at stake here. That’s the kind of thing girls will eat up, right?”

“If it’s us, we’ll have to be pretty edgy,” Kaoru admits grudgingly. “That’s our reputation, right? Heh, do we have to perform for your little brother, too, or will he know the truth?”

Rei hesitates at that. “…I’m going to let him assume whatever he wants,” he finally settles upon. “We’re…not really on speaking terms right now.” _If you can at least fake a normal relationship with someone in front of him, maybe that’ll cure you of being gross!_ so suggests his fucked up mind.

Kaoru nods, shrugging. “My siblings always used to fight a bunch. They both like me, though. Heh, he used to talk about you all the time, when you were in England. Almost as much as your old friends.”

The corner of Rei’s mouth twitches, and he climbs to his feet, dusting off nonexistent dirt and scooping up his bag. “You’re a good boy, Kaoru-kun,” he says. “Thank you for humoring this little venture. Oh, I’m assuming for the sake of your ‘dignity’, you’d like to say that _you’re_  putting it in, even though Kanata-kun said—“

Kaoru has never moved so fast as when he lurches up now, slapping a hand over Rei’s mouth and holding it there, eyes bright and nervous. “Heh...maybe we don’t say anything about this? That? The thing? I’m doing what you say, just don’t...talk about that, at all, ever. If anyone finds out, you’ve got no leverage on me, you know.”

 “Fair enough,” Rei cheerfully says, voice muffled behind Kaoru’s hand. “It’s okay, Kaoru-kun.” He licks Kaoru’s palm. “I’ll let you do whateeever you want.” 

Kaoru removes his hand, scowling. “Knock it off, Sakuma-san. We’re not going that far. Don’t get too excited, you know? It’s like you’re just playing with me.”

“I know, I know—I’m just trying to have a convincing story, you know? We need to be on the same page.” Rei pats him on the shoulder. “For the record, Kanata-kun didn’t tell me anything of the sort, but thank you for confirming my suspicions!” 

“I--” Kaoru opens his mouth, then closes it again, stormclouds gathering on his face. “If you don’t start being a lot sweeter, we’re gonna have a very convincing break-up.”

“I’d appreciate a few lessons on being sweet, actually. I’m apparently very bad at it.” Rei pauses, then sighs, bowing shallowly. “In all seriousness—thank you for your assistance. I’ll be nice and behave myself to the best of my ability, but you _are_  the dating expert here, not me.” 

Kaoru sighs, and climbs to his feet, ruffling Rei’s surprisingly silky hair. “Just keep that in mind, okay? And we can probably...get through this all right. Ah, god, I hope my family doesn’t find out about this...”

“…They know you’re already trying to be a rock star, right?” Rei skeptically replies, straightening up. “I feel like this sort of thing comes with the territory…” 

“If they find out, I _am_ gonna tell them it’s fake,” Kaoru warns. “Like, just so you know. Otherwise they’ll probably send me overseas or something.”

Rei holds his hands up placatingly. “Of course, of course. I would never expect you to get in actual _trouble_  because of this. Believe it or not, Kaoru-kun, I went to you because I like you.” 

Kaoru’s smile fades a little, and he picks up his school bag, slinging it over his shoulder. “Well, just so you know, being blackmailed into something I don’t want to do is pretty low on the list of things I like. I’m going along with it, I’ll play along, don’t worry, but...yeah. See you later, loverboy.”

 

 

~

 

 

Koga was having a pretty good day until Adonis sidles up to him and grabs his ass. 

Understandably, Koga is not pleased. “Yooo, what the fuck, man! What the fuck!” he snarls, nearly dropping his guitar in his haste to scurry away, his face flaming. 

The stare Adonis fixes on him is impassive, uncomprehending. “I am greeting you after a long absence.”

“W…what?”

His brow furrows. “Is that not typical? I observed Hakaze-sempai and Sakuma-sempai during lunch today…I didn’t feel entirely comfortable kissing your neck out of nowhere, so I thought maybe this…” 

Koga stares back at him, and seemingly right on cue, it’s Rei and Kaoru that enter their rented practice room, Rei all smiles, dragging Kaoru along by the hand. “Look at my catch of the day!” he cheerfully says. “I’ve convinced him that at least once a week is suitable if we’re going to win consistently, isn’t that a delight? Ah, pupper, you look flushed, are you running a fever?” 

“No, fuck you—“

“Come here, let this old man check your temperature—“

“Don’t pet me, vampire bastard!” Koga hisses, scurrying away. At least a _moment_  to process the fact that _Kaoru and Rei were making out during lunch, probably_  would be great, but even a second doesn’t help him figure out how he feels about that beyond the sinking feeling in his stomach. “I didn’t sign up for this bullshit!”

“I didn’t say I’d come to practice to hear him barking,” Kaoru says with a sigh, letting go of Rei’s hand, only to slide that arm around Rei’s narrow waist, pulling him close. Goddamn, but this is a lot more fun than he’d expected when he’d first signed up for this. It’s kind of like a fun performance, like a stage, which makes him thrive on the attention.

“No one comes here to hear him barking,” Rei laments, covering his ears for a moment before he realizes, oh, yes, he has someone to be _pathetic_  to, and promptly turns to bury his face into Kaoru’s shoulder. “He’s so _noisy_ , Kaoru-kun, make it stoooop.”

Koga honestly can’t believe what he’s seeing, and it stuns him into silence for a long moment. The gross, twisting thing in his stomach won’t stop now, and he feels like he’s choking on spit when he even thinks about talking again. “What the fuck,” he mutters for what feels like the umpteenth time. 

“Oogami. You see what I was talking about.”

“Yeah, I’ve got _eyes_ , fucking hell.” Koga stares at the pair of them before turning away with a snarl of breath. “How long’s this been going on, huh?”

“Uh...what did we call our official anniversary, hmm? A week on Tuesday, that’s since the first official date.” Only a tiny silver of guilt niggles at Kaoru at the stricken look on Koga’s face. Well, hell, it’s not his fault that Koga had never manned up and asked Rei out, after all. Hell, they’re in the same band _and_ the same club--at some point, it’s no one else’s fault. “Not that it’s _really_ any of your business, Wan-chan. Be like your big brother, Otsukare-kun doesn’t care. He’s far more enlightened.”

Adonis stares over at them, still clearly not following. “What am I enlightened about.”

“They’re _dating_ ,” Koga snaps, waving a frustrated hand. “What part of that aren’t you—“ 

“Dating.” Adonis pauses, and then bows, slowly, formally. “Congratulations.”

“What the fuck’s with the formality?! It’s not like they’re getting married!” Koga whirls his rage back towards Kaoru. “Don’t call me that, and he’s not my _brother_ , what the hell—“

“So noisy,” Rei groans, worming his way out of Kaoru’s grasp to _escape_. “Someone, tie him up and throw him in a closet, I can’t take this anymore.”

Kaoru gives Koga a sympathetic shrug, just before he’s bound up and tossed into the closet. “Thanks for the congrats, Adonis. Don’t worry, we’ll be a great role model for you~! You got your eye on anyone at this school, huh?”

“…Everyone at this school is male except for the transfer student, Hakaze-sempai.“

“Unimportant,” Rei sing-songs, latching onto Kaoru’s arm again, content now that Koga is kicking and screaming muffled little screams in a closet where he belongs. “I’ve helped Kaoru-kun jump that hurdle, after all!”

“There are a few cute ones that look like girls,” Kaoru assures him, reaching up to tug at Rei’s hair, nuzzling behind one ear. “Mm, some that smell really good, too. Otsukare-kun, I’d think you’d want to find someone big and strong and full of meat.”

Adonis’s eyes narrow, his expression contemplative. “There do seem to be some students that meet those requirements.”

“Nn, Kaoru-kun,” Rei distractedly murmurs, not _really_  having to fake this part when he nuzzles into Kaoru’s neck, inhaling the heady scent of both his skin and the blood just beneath the surface. He’s gay and he’s hungry, there’s _not_  much to fake. “If you keep doing that, you’re going to make me hungry…”

“You should eat some of the ham in your coffin, Sakuma-sempai. The expiration date is—“

“Our children are bad today,” Rei mutters, snapping his teeth a mere centimeter from Kaoru’s skin.

“Ehh, you promised to behave yourself if I came in for practice,” Kaoru teases, tapping the tip of Rei’s nose three times, and lets his hand drop down to squeeze the sweet curve of that ass--not that it’s _sweet_ , that’s just a character he’s getting into, and he’s having fun playing around in front of their bandmates. “Don’t you wanna work on the music?”

Rei’s sigh is a long-suffering one, even as he flops his full weight against Kaoru. “I’m behaaaving,” he whines. “I’m just hungry. Ahh, maybe afterwards you’ll be nice to me…I have to eat if I’m going to keep being on the top of my game, you know…” He tilts his head back to catch Adonis’s gaze. “Go ahead and release Koga-kun, I suppose we need him.”

“Understood.”

A very annoyed, kicky, snarly Oogami Koga is plucked from the closet and untied, and shoots a number of dark looks in both Kaoru and Rei’s direction. “I’m not fucking practicing in here today if you two are gonna keep being all over one another!”

“That’s so rude, pupper—“

“Stop _callin’_  me that!”

With that, Koga snatches up his guitar, practically tosses it into its case, and slams it shut before slinging it over his shoulder and storming out without another, furious word. Adonis stares after him until Rei waves a dismissive hand, and Adonis follows suit. 

“Oogami-kun. Oogami-kun—“

“Well,” Rei says, prying himself off of Kaoru to shut the door behind both second years. “I suppose that went as well as it could have.”

Kaoru hops up onto Rei’s coffin, swinging his legs back and forth, his heels bumping lightly against the walls of the coffin with each motion. “Feels kinda bad,” he admits. “I mean, it’s funny in a way, but Wan-chan seems really upset. He’s in your brother’s class, right? Think he’s gonna blab?”

“He was going to be upset no matter how gently he found out,” Rei points out wearily, dropping down onto the piano bench. “He’s very attached, isn’t he? Ahh…if he tells Ritsu, that’s troublesome, but not the worst way for Ritsu to find out. We still aren’t really…talking.” 

“That’s rough,” Kaoru says with a sigh, pulling out his phone and sending off a few texts. “My big bro and I had a big fight a couple weeks ago. Got kinda heated.”

**To: Hana-chan**

**This week is no good sorry... :( i’m so sad w/o u, think of me tonite when ur lonely?**

“Ritsu thinks I abandoned him, I know.” Rei’s mouth twists, and he turns on the bench, letting his head thunk against the piano. “He’s not even wrong…I hope you have a good big brother, Kaoru-kun. Not that any of them could be as terrible as me, but…” 

“He’s pretty cool, I guess. We mostly just kinda steer clear of each other. My sister and I are closer, but he’s kinda...I dunno, when I was a kid I thought he was way awesome. He did a lot of sports in school.”

**To: Kiku-chan**

**haha no ur the bad one... ;) dont leave me hanging send me a pic ;)**

“Ahh. A jock. Of course. I’m surprised you aren’t more of one, to be honest, you seem like the type. Ritsu is so cute, you know? I just wish I was better at talking to him. It’s fine if it’s about someone else, but the moment our own relationship comes up, he starts screaming at me and crying, and I start crying and making excuses, and it’s just a _mess_ …” Rei pauses, lifting his head when Kaoru’s phone just _keeps_  buzzing. “Are you texting girls literally right now.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah.” Kaoru beams, and fires off a few more. “I’ve got a couple of dates lined up for the weekend. Don’t worry, I’m all yours during the week.”

Rei’s lips purse, and he slowly slides off of the piano bench, climbing to his feet. “Kaoru-kun,” he says, flopping down at Kaoru’s feet, propping his chin up onto Kaoru’s knee. “Remember when I said I was hungry?” 

“Eat some ham.”

**To: Bibi-chan**

**awww u 2 i always think of u when it rains ;)**

Rei’s eyes narrow, and he compulsively reaches for Kaoru’s belt. “You already invited me to drink once. It’s fair game now.” 

Kaoru slaps Rei’s hand away with a yelp, dropping his phone with a clatter. “Yo, what the heck? I said the arm, why are you going for the good stuff?”

“Because it’s more convincing.” Rei stares up at him, batting his eyelashes slowly. “Are you so worried about my mouth between your legs? I’m fine with your neck, too, but that might show…” 

Kaoru frowns at him, his pulse suddenly thudding quickly under his skin, startled by the sudden grab, but trying to play it cool. Then he runs his tongue over his teeth, and leans back onto his hands. “Well, that’s the plan, right? For everyone to see? That’ll shut people up if they think we’re just faking, if they can see a hickey.”

There’s a short pause before Rei rises up off of his knees, leaning over Kaoru and bracing a hand on the top of his coffin. “It’s more than a hickey.” His lips twitch, suddenly amused, and he lifts his other hand to brush Kaoru’s hair out of the way, his fingertips tracing the warmth of that pulsing, thudding artery underneath his skin. His breath hitches, and it’s a miracle that his mouth doesn’t start watering. “I suppose a vampire bite on your neck would look _terribly_  convincing…” 

“Th-that’s the point, right?”

Curse his voice for shaking, but at least Kaoru doesn’t yank his head away from the gentle, slightly invasive touch. It’s kinda wild that Rei’s so _into_ him--kinda sexy, if...no, he can’t think of Rei as sexy, that’s not going to help with this stupid experiment.

(Even if Rei’s breath feels eager and warm on his neck.)

“If you’re so jealous of the girls I’m texting, maybe you should give me something else to brag about.”

“I’m not jealous.” It’s a reflexive retort, and not an entirely convincing one, besides. “I’m hungry.” 

That addition hopefully is more convincing, especially when Rei leans forward, just a bit more, just enough to part his lips and suck on that soft, smooth skin. His tongue traces the line of Kaoru’s jugular, feeling the way the blood jumps and pushes up against the skin, almost like it _wants_  to be licked up and swallowed down. “I should warn you,” he breathes, sliding a hand forward to rest it over Kaoru’s. “You might feel a little…strange, afterwards. Most humans like it, though.”

“Strange?” Kaoru feels himself shiver, and tries not to squirm like some kind of loser who’s never had his neck kissed before. It’s just a weird scent and food thing, right? Yeah, this isn’t a sex thing. It’s a vampire thing. “I’m not gonna get hungry for blood, though, right?”

“No, no, nothing like that. I’m not turning you, I’m just…” Rei’s fingers curl, squeezing Kaoru’s hand. “Having a taste.” 

He’s talked about it long enough, smelled Kaoru for days, tormented himself with it, and honestly, if this whole act is going to be good for anything, it can at _least_  be good for this. 

_Does Kaoru really think you’re serious? He probably thinks you’re joking, he probably thinks it’s all just part of the act…_

Rei gives in and bites, sinking his fangs in deep, and the first taste of Kaoru’s blood on his tongue makes his knees nearly buckle. He groans as he swallows, his eyes fluttering shut, and he sucks down another mouthful, and another, shivering at the fragrant, deliciously coppery taste when he finally pulls back, licking at his lips, sucking the few droplets left on Kaoru’s neck because he can’t help himself. “There,” he breathes, flushed and satisfied. “Now we’re killing three birds with one stone.” 

The feeling of envenomed fangs digging into his neck is enough to make Kaoru flinch and yelp, no matter how much he’d told himself not to. Still, it makes him twitch and squirm, until he hears himself whining, hears himself sucking in breath as if he’s actually enjoying himself. “Sakuma-san,” he breathes, one of his hands coming up to rest on Rei’s chest. His blood feels like it’s going slower, but not in a bad way--in a calm way, in a way that makes his entire body quiver in what feels like pleased anticipation. “Nnh....what three?”

Rei’s tongue flicks out, dragging over his own fangs, tasting the little bit of blood still clinging there. “Mmn…UNDEAD’s publicity, making my mother shut up, and…heh. Feeding me.” He shifts forward, pressing another, affectionate kiss to the side of Kaoru’s neck. “You’re delicious, Kaoru-kun. Ahh…I could get used to this…” 

Kaoru feels an urge to give in, to let Rei do as he pleases...but hell, he’s not _that_ far gone into a hazy cloud of pleasure that he’ll do that kind of thing. He reaches out, patting Rei’s face, then pulling his own head away. “Maybe we should be careful about you getting used to it, hmm? I don’t wanna get you hooked if this is only temporary.

“Noo, let me enjoy it while it lasts,” Rei bemoans, butting his head against Kaoru’s hand. “You’re tasty. Type B, right? Ahh, one of my favorites.” 

“You can taste the difference? Huh...I wonder what it is, that you’re tasting. Obviously it’s the hemoglobin, but...” Kaoru frowns, idly brushing the hair away from Rei’s face. “Can you taste the rH antigens, too? The difference between plus and minus?”

Rei blinks at him dazedly, still too pleased with his meal to really process much of what he’s saying, especially when he’s being coincidentally petted. “Kaoru-kun’s a nerd,” he settles upon, turning his head to nip at Kaoru’s wrist as well. “Good. My favorite.” 

“Eh? I’m not a nerd. Super rude. Don’t try to lump me in with people like Hasumi--ohhh, you really _do_ have a type, hmm?” Kaoru’s eyes are still a bit fuzzy, but he giggles, thumbing a drop of blood off of Rei’s lips. “Working your way through the smart boys, huh? Heh, are you sure this is fake, and you didn’t just want a reason to lick and bite at me? Sakuma-san liiiiikes me...”

“Shhh.” Rei grabs Kaoru’s wrist, holding his hand still so that he can lick up that drop of blood, refusing to let it go to waste. “I like the way you taste and I think you’re cute, it’s a win-win, you know? Bonus points for being a nerd, that’s what you get.” He idly pinches the inside of Kaoru’s thigh. “Maybe next time you’ll be nice and let me drink here, hmm?” 

Kaoru groans, lurching forward suddenly, pressing his hips forward, grinding the sudden hardness in his pants against Rei’s hand for a second before he stops, startled and horrified at himself. “Um--wow, I...yeah I’m really sorry, that was kinda...” Suddenly throbbing against his own thigh, so hard it’s aching, so hard it’s probably contributing to his lightheadedness, and when the heck had that happened?

Rei’s expression barely changes, and judging by how unfazed he is, it’s fairly obvious he _expected_  this. “I told you being bitten might make you feel a little strange,” he hums, idly reaching for Kaoru’s belt again. “Shall I? When we haven’t even kissed properly yet?” His eyes flash with deep amusement. “Or do guys just not turn you on, Kaoru-kun?” 

Kaoru slaps at Rei’s hand on reflex, bringing his other hand up to cover his face. He wants so badly to run, but god, his head is so _fuzzy_...

_No, no, it’s gonna make it so weird, can’t let it get like this!_

His fight or flight response finally kicks in, though imperfectly, and he flails backwards, far enough to slam his hip against the edge of the coffin, groaning when he finally pulls away. “Ahh...okay, not going there! Nice to talk to you, see you later, I’m going to the infirmary!”

It’s mean to laugh, definitely, but stifling giggles is easier said than done when Kaoru is being so _predictable._  “All right then, Kaoru-kun!” Rei hums, waving as he retreats as well, making his way back to the piano. “Maybe for once, we’ll get to all practice together without it ending up like this. Have a nice infirmary stay!” 


	6. Chapter 6

For once, Ritsu actually wants to find Koga.

He looks around the school for a bit, but everywhere he can think to look--the Light Music Club, the UNDEAD practice room--stands a higher-than-usual chance of containing one Sakuma Rei, the biggest and most annoying loser in Yumenosaki Academy. 

It’s almost a full day before he remembers that Koga is in his class, and that actually going to class will get him what he wants. Well, fine, he probably should anyway, so he drags himself to class, sleeping his way through some gross ‘learning’ until lunch, then trying to blink himself awake, fumbling up to grab weakly at the back of Koga’s blazer as he heads out the door. “Wait...Corgi, wait...”

“Don’t call me that, Ritchii,” Koga exasperatedly says, though there’s not a lot of bite in his voice when he’s tired, frustrated, and in the worst mood he’s been in for awhile. Losing sleep over something this dumb, that’s fucking ridiculous, isn’t it? But fuck, he can’t stop seeing how easily Kaoru’s arm had slung around Rei’s waist, or how Rei had nuzzled Kaoru’s hair… 

He’s going to have to get over it, he knows, but a day isn’t long enough to lessen the sting of it. 

He wipes a hand down his face, stepping to the side to avoid the other members of their class that have the right idea about fucking escaping, and turns to face Ritsu instead. “What’s up? If you’re gonna come to class, at least stay awake, dummy.”

“S’hard,” Ritsu mumbles, rolling his head to lay it on his arm, still clutching to Koga’s blazer. “And I’m in a bad mood. Only came ‘cuz you were here, so be nice to me.”

“ _You’re_  in a bad mood? Shit, what happened to you?” Koga mutters, sighing as he draws Ritsu along, dragging him towards the door. “C’mon, you’re not falling asleep in here.” 

Ritsu slumps immediately, contentedly against Koga’s shoulder, clinging to it and letting himself be dragged. “My brother is the worst and I hate him and I wish he’d been eaten by the Loch Ness Monster.”

“Yeah? Welcome to the club.” Koga doesn’t so much as grunt underneath Ritsu’s weight, though he does get sick of trying to make him walk, and just throws him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. There’s gotta be an empty practice room they can hide in somewhere. “What’d that vampire bastard do to you?” 

“He’s avoiding me,” Ritsu mutters, “but...” HIs face clouds, dark and stormy, hands fisting in Koga’s blazer. “He smells like Hakaze-kun. Inside and out. Hard to explain to a human.”

Koga says nothing as he trudges down the hall, finally finding an empty room that doesn’t have a booking slip posted to the door, and he walks inside, plopping Ritsu down onto the floor. “Yeah. I know. I can smell it, too.” His mouth twists. “Not that it fucking matters. I got to watch them fucking climb all over one another during practice.” 

“Wow. Gross.” Ritsu doesn’t let go of Koga’s blazer, keeping him close even as he curls up on the floor. “You’re warm, don’t go too far.” Keeping someone else close might ward off the weird, sick, jealous feeling that’s been twisting at his gut for the last few hours.

Koga opens his mouth to protest, then sighs, flopping down next to him and slinging an arm around him. Whatever, at least he can be useful to _one_  Sakuma brother. That particular thought makes his throat tight, and he scowls, mussing Ritsu’s hair compulsively. “The hell are you pissed for,” he mutters. “You should be glad that he’s leaving you the fuck alone.” He knows that’s bullshit, but they can pretend to hate Sakuma Rei together, at least.

“Yeah.” Ritsu’s voice comes out muffled, and a little wet as he buries his face in Koga’s shoulder. “Thank god. He won’t be hassling you about practice and stuff as much. Or coming home. So good.”

“No, he’s still fucking hassling me about practice, lucky me,” Koga mutters, smoothing a hand down Ritsu’s back, petting him like he would his dog (who could be here, that would be nice). “Why the fuck isn’t he coming home?” 

“Because he’s fucking that stupid skirt-chaser,” Ritsu snarls, nails digging suddenly into Koga’s arm without him meaning them to. “He’s acting like a fucking lunatic. What’s with his stupid accent?”

Koga doesn’t as much as flinch, pretty used to being Ritsu’s pincushion by now. “Do you have to actually _say_  they’re fucking?” he complains, gently smacking Ritsu’s back. “And I don’t fucking know what’s with his fucking accent. ‘Wagahai’ this, ‘wagahai’ that—can’t he talk like he used to? It’s…it’s like he came back a different person.” His voice clogs up in his throat like a drain full of wet hair or something equally gross, and Koga huffs into Ritsu’s hair in his frustration. “Fuck this.” 

“I’m telling you, it’s a pod person. It’s just a gross bug creature that came back. It’s...” Ritsu’s voice catches, but stupid Koga is probably the only person who’ll understand, so he presses on, choked and wet, “You know how he used to sometimes hug me? Like, dive at me out of nowhere? He’s so fast and so strong...but now when he does it, he does it all...slowed down, like to human speed. Like he wants me to pull away. So I do.”

“Try him deliberately fucking with you until you can’t help but yell at him, and then he acts like you’re the worst thing ever, and he fucking ties you up and tosses you into a closet. He just wants a fucking reason to do it, and I don’t…” Koga trails off, choking down another, furious sniff. “Dunno what I fucking did,” he mutters. “I’m not the one that fucking changed the way I act around him or anything. Maybe we just suck by his standards now or somethin’, prissy music school does that to people.” 

“He thought you all sucked a long time ago,” Ritsu says flatly. “He used to complain about it all the time, that everyone at Yumenosaki wasn’t a _real_ musician. But I...” Ritsu huffs, then struggles up, wiping Koga’s face with a sleeve. “I preferred that. Because now he’s in his own stupid world. And I dunno how to be a part of it.”

“Cool, great, so he was just fakin’ all the times he said he liked playing with me, then.” That should, theoretically, make it easier to let this shit go and forget about it, but instead, it just makes that stupid, gross sinking feeling in his stomach get worse. “I dunno what he wants. I thought…heh, I thought about just saying ‘fuck it’ and quitting. Then maybe he’d be fucked, I thought—but not really, he plays the fucking guitar, so what does he need me for.” 

“Wish I could quit my family,” Ritsu says glumly, moving his sharp nails up to stroke, probably not comfortingly, through Koga’s wild hair. Actually, it’s surprisingly well-groomed, now that he touches it up close. Koga, he knows, had been trying to work up the courage to confess to Rei upon his return. It’s one of the things they’d talked about, over the last year. “Plan’s off, huh? Don’t blame you.”

“Yeah, I give up,” Koga says with a wet laugh, pissed at himself for getting this emotional, pissed when he’s been this invested for so long in the fucking _first_  place. He flops his head forward into Ritsu’s shoulder. “Think it’s pretty clear he doesn’t give a fuck about me. I thought…no, fuck it. I don’t know what I thought.” 

“Yeah, you do,” Ritsu mumbles, finding himself sort of wanting to rip out his own heart and give it to Koga. It beats slower than that of a human, especially one as hot-blooded as Koga, constantly pumping out hormones and life to every part of his limbs. It sounds disturbing, to be that vital and _alive_ all the time, and Ritsu finds himself tracing a nail down one vein, following the steadily-throbbing blue line. “You feel him in here, right? Every time it moves--like he’s in here, and it hurts through all of you whenever you breathe. He’s in your blood. Like a fucking virus.”

Hearing it put so _precisely_  to a point makes Koga wince visibly, and he pinches Ritsu’s side irritably. Rei is absolutely a fucking virus; one that occupies his thoughts every single time he picks up his guitar ( _maybe he’ll talk about how awesome my solo is this time, maybe he’ll write me one again_ ), every single time they’re in a room together ( _why does he smell so good, he’s a fucking vampire, why is his hair that soft_ ), and every single time he’s alone ( _maybe one day he’ll bite me and kill me and I won’t have to keep thinking about how his hands might feel_ ).  “If that’s supposed to make me feel better, try again. Makes me feel worse.” He shifts uncomfortably, batting Ritsu’s hand away. “Your brother’s a fucking mess. Maybe he’ll get his head on straight again after he wins a few lives or something. Yeah, that’s…that’s probably what it is.” 

Ritsu draws back his hands, disappointed and humorless. “You’re so dumb. He’s been possessed. Or he’s changed so bad the old him is dead. I’m just gonna ignore that he exists from now on. You keep throwing yourself at walls if you wanna.”

“He’s your fucking brother. You can’t just ignore him.” Koga wipes a hand across his face, scrubbing at the salty, sore mess tears pricking into his eyes has left behind. “He’s a mess, but…he’s still _Sakuma Rei._  How the fuck can I let that go, huh?” 

That brings a sudden hot sting to the back of Ritsu’s eyes, and he turns away, not wanting even Koga to see him crying over that idiot. Mao, sure, that’s one thing, Mao knows _way_ too much about him. But in front of Koga, he still wants to look the tiniest bit cool, as stupid as that probably is. “I’ll come to _one_ Live. He’d better have his head on straight by then, or I give up.”

“Don’t fucking cry or I’ll start crying, fuck you,” Koga sniffs, shoving Ritsu’s face back down into his chest in an attempt to at least not _see_  him cry. “You could always come to see _me_ , you little shit. I’m fucking awesome.” 

Ritsu weakly, wearily gives Koga’s chest a punch. Damn, is he made of rock or something? “You’d better have a good solo. Don’t let him take it away, just play over his singing.”

“He still gives me solos,” Koga mutters. “That’s not the problem. He’s just…a fucking bastard in every other way, basically.” Then he adds, very grumpily, “Still fucking sexy, though. Dammit. I wish he wasn’t.” 

“It got worse.” Embarrassing as it is, Koga is the only person Ritsu doesn’t fake this part for, doesn’t pretend he doesn’t find his brother sexy for. “Who do you think tops? Him or Hakaze?”

Koga makes a face—as if he hasn’t thought about it at _length_ , because thinking about how Sakuma Rei looks in bed occupies way more of his brain than he ever wants to admit. “It’s totally Hakaze-sempai,” he finally says with a world-weary sigh, flopping over onto his back and throwing an arm over his face. “They’re _super_  fucking clingy in that one particular way, y’know? Gross. Why did he get _hotter_ , his hair is long now…” 

“I bet my stupid brother lets him top,” Ritsu says firmly, deciding at last on his opinion, “because Hakaze-kun screams if you try to put something up his ass. What the hell, you know? I thought he was totally into girls. Because he never shuts up about them. It’s fishy.”

The force behind Koga’s eyeroll nearly makes his eyes fall out of his head. “Yeah, whatever. He’s a total fucking homo. He likes guys that look like girls. I dunno what he’s doing with Sakuma-sempai, but…maybe it’s the hair, he has such nice hair…” _Reel it in!_  his mind screams, but Ritsu’s got him _started_  now, mother fucker.

“Or the way he smells. Or maybe he just likes a guy that could toss him into a wall so hard his skull would shatter. Maybe we’ll get lucky and my stupid brother will do that in his sleep and he’ll die in a pool of blood and guts.”

“He could throw me into a wall.” Koga pauses, then sighs. “Just hit me or something so I fucking stop.”

Ritsu smiles suddenly, fangs glinting. “Or something?”

“Yeah, or something.” Koga realizes the mistake after the fact, when he can practically smell the way Ritsu’s entire body language changes, and he scowls, eyeing him warily. “Oi.”

Ritsu prowls suddenly above him, shoving Koga flat on his back, leaning over him with eyes shining in the low light, fangs entirely out, lips pulled back. “I can think of a thing. You should totally let me.” Koga never has before, but hey, there might be a first time.

Shit. Ritsu’s _serious_. 

It’s one thing to know they’re vampires, another thing to actually feel the ill-concealed strength behind Ritsu’s shove and to see those fangs, and Koga gulps, staring up at him. There’s a big part of him that wants to pick Ritsu up and place him anywhere else right now, but… “You that hungry that you’d settle?” he laughs self-depreciatingly, loosening his tie to tug down his collar.

Ritsu’s eyes sharpen, locked on the open skin at the base of Koga’s neck, every tiny centimeter that he’s revealing with the tug to his collar. He’d been teasing before, but god, seeing it all laid out there and waiting for him...

He swallows hard, licking his lips when his mouth starts watering. “Corgi isn’t settling. Your blood always smells real nice. Not as good as Maa~kun, but I guess not everyone can be Type O...”

“Don’t call me that,” Koga mutters, feeling his face heat up against his will when Ritsu looks at him like that, licks his lips like that. What’s up with the Sakuma brothers both having such a pretty face, huh? “Your brother fucking calls me ‘pupper’ and it’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” 

“He’s stupid. I’m cute, so what I call you is cute.” Ritsu tilts his head, watching the beat of Koga’s pulse under his skin. “You like Corgis, right? You remind me of one. But I don’t wanna bite a dog, so it’s just a nickname.”

Koga opens his mouth to argue again before shutting it with a frustrated huff of breath. “Yeah, whatever. Fine. I guess it’s cute. I’m not a dog, though, I’m a fucking wolf.” He hesitates, then unbuttons his shirt, peeling his collar down the rest of the way. “If you’re that hungry, it would be shitty of me to not feed you.” Even if Rei is shitty and terrible and _stupid_ , he still promised to take care of Ritsu, and this has got to be part of it, somehow.

Ritsu’s eyes light up. “Seriously? You’re gonna let me?” No one has ever let him have a _proper_ drink before, not one that looks like an attractive guy unbuttoning and pulling down his shirt. He leans down, letting warm breath pulse against Koga’s neck as his cool fingers rest on Koga’s chest, feeling the latent, lean strength there. His tongue flicks out, like it has so many times against Maa-kun’s, but Maa-kun always pulls away as soon as he feels teeth, which is super rude. Hunger trembles in Ritsu’s stomach, enough that his fingernails dig into Koga’s chest, nose bumping against his ear. “I’m _really_ hungry, Noble Wolf-san...”

Ha, shit. Ritsu’s _more_  than just serious, he’s probably going to drain him dry and turn him into a shitty vampire at _best_ , or maybe he’ll just kill him and put him out of his Sakuma-induced misery, once and for all…

Koga swallows hard, his throat bobbing just beneath Ritsu’s mouth. The flick of Ritsu’s tongue against his skin makes trepidation twist in his belly, and it’s not scary as much as it is…fuck, what’s wrong with him? _It’s kind of hot._  

How many times has he imagined Rei pulling this stupid vampire act on him? Except it’s not an act, it’s very real, and with that in mind, Ritsu is pushing every single one of the buttons that Koga’s embarrassed to even talk about having. “I…if you’re really hungry, then do it already,” he mumbles, his face burning hot. “Don’t just lick me.”

“You probably shouldn’t have said that,” Ritsu whispers, excited and eager, before letting his teeth flash out. He’s too charged up to be accurate, and he barely nicks the big carotid artery, hungrily, messily slurping at the hot, sweet, almost fruity blood bursting over his tongue. He quickly loses whatever control he had, hands coming up to grab at Koga’s neck and head to hold him still, straddling Koga’s chest as he drinks, drinks, swallows and drinks more. 

In the end, it’s probably the fact that he’d bitten wrong that saves Koga’s life, since it takes a dozen heated breaths before the world makes sense again, and he pulls back, swiping his tongue over the holes. One of them trickles slightly, which he licks up, but the other doesn’t, already staunched and sterilized by his saliva. Koga’s heart still beats hot and strong in his chest, so obviously, Rei’s warning that he’d lose control and kill someone was unnecessary. 

For the first time, Ritsu feels truly satisfied, with incredible energy surging through him, making the world brighter, friendlier, available for him to conquer, and his smile is dreamy. “Oh, man...Type A is really good, huh? Corgi...Koga-kun is really tasty after all.”

_I’m gonna die_  is not the _top_  thought in Koga’s mind, but it’s definitely one of them. 

Starting at his neck is the weirdest, tingliest numbness Koga has ever felt, and it spreads all the way down to his toes, making him shiver every single time he hears Ritsu swallow and slurp. And hear it he definitely can—it’s even _louder_  like this, when he can’t seem to focus on anything but the way Ritsu keeps licking and drinking like he’s the most delicious thing he’s ever had. 

Which doesn’t help the aching erection between his legs, go figure. 

_Why?!_  he wants to screech at his dick, before whooo, fuck, now is _not_  the appropriate time. “Y-yeah, great, good, glad you got a good drink,” he manages, trying to heave himself up onto his elbows, only to slither right back down with a resounding thump. Hah. Shit.

Ritsu cocks his head to the side, letting one hand hold Koga down with a lot more ease than he’d expected. “You’re kinda floppy. I’d be mean if I let you walk out like this. You’d fall down.”

“No shit!” Koga’s head lolls, and he glowers dazedly up at the ceiling, trying not to shudder when Ritsu keeps…well, he just keeps fucking _breathing_  on him, that’s not fair! “W…when are the side effects gonna go away, I feel all…tingly.” _Don’t talk about your dick, don’t talk about your dick._

“How should I know? I’ve never had such a goo~ood drink.” Ritsu licks his lips, sitting back, and immediately reaches back to move the annoying hard thing he’d--

Oh.

His lips curl up at the edges, and he sits back harder, eyes locked on Koga’s sweating, nervous face. “Your dick is hard.”

“S-shut up,” Koga groans, struggling to claw himself away across the floor, even though his hips desperately want to thrust up and grind against the curve of Ritsu’s ass which just _has_  to be situated _right there against it._  “This is your fault, it’s totally your fault,” he frantically feels the need to mention. “It’s gotta be a side effect.” 

“It’s my fault?” Ritsu asks sweetly. “You mean it’s because of me?” He wants to do more to torment Koga, but how? For the moment, he just rocks back and forth, a little harder each time. Is this something he should know about by now, how to torture a guy sexually? His stupid brother probably should have taught him this stuff by now.

Now, more than when he was being drained of his blood, Koga’s thought process is very much _I’m gonna die._

If he doesn’t die from this torture, he’s going to die later, when fucking obnoxious brocon Sakuma Rei smells his cute little brother all over him and there’s nothing he can do but fucking _run._  It makes panic well up in Koga’s chest, and he fumbles for a proper reaction when his dick is so hard that he’s not able to think properly, when all he wants to do is grab Ritsu and throw him on his back and shove his cock up against his pretty, sweet face—

No, fuck it, his life is over, because just _thinking_  about that makes his hands scrabble up helplessly, grabbing at Ritsu’s hips to hold him still, just long enough for his hips to jerk up and his cock to spill, because coming all over himself in his pants can’t make today _any_  worse. Koga gulps for air, his face flushed dark red, and he releases Ritsu even as his hands shake, not quite able to drag himself away by crawling across the floor. “S-sorry, I’m sorry, fuck, I’m really fucking sorry—“

The mischievous grin on Ritsu’s face drains slowly away, as he tries to figure out what on earth had just happened. One second, the tension in the room had been rising, heading towards something _interesting_ , even if Ritsu isn’t entirely sure what. The next, Koga had been limp and embarrassed, and there’s a little wet spot slowly blossoming against--

Oh.

Ritsu’s face flushes in disappointment and frustration. What the heck is he supposed to do now? He’s still feeling interested and tense, but Koga...

“You suck,” he mutters, and uses his new blood-driven strength and speed, dashing off of Koga’s lap and fleeing the room at a dead run.

 

~

 

 

UNDEAD’s first real Live, booked on a Friday night at the most expensive Live House that Yumenosaki has to offer, is going to be spectacular—Rei refuses to settle for anything less. 

He has plans—a number of them, actually—but more than anything, he’s still energetic from a mix of tasting Kaoru’s blood and the fact that finally, finally he’ll have a chance to perform the half dozen songs in his arsenal, lying in wait to destroy any and all competition. His blood thrums from the growing excitement, the intense desire to perform…

…even if there’s something bothering him about Koga. 

He always smells like Ritsu. Rei knows they talk, knows they spend time around one another, but this is different. Koga has been avoidant, strangely only showing up when Kaoru is also in the room, almost like he’s trying to systematically hide something. 

It’s his scent, Rei finally figures out, frowning as he finishes painting his own nails, watching Koga pace and fidget with his guitar backstage. But why…

“Ah. Sakuma-sempai’s little brother.” 

Rei perks up immediately, abandoning his thoughts of Koga and what he’s trying to hide. “Ritsu?” he brightly asks, hauling himself to his feet. “I didn’t think you were coming!” 

The enthusiasm, the excitement that had flushed through Ritsu at the thought of the concert drains away at all the weird pronouns, the stupid intonation, and he prepares to dodge the inevitable tackle-hug. “I didn’t come to see you. Make sure you don’t suck onstage.”

“So mean, your little brother,” Kaoru sing-songs, sauntering over to lean on Rei’s shoulder, already made up and costumed for the stage.

“If not me, who would you be coming to see?” Rei laughs, slipping an arm around Kaoru’s waist to give him a quick squeeze before releasing him and ducking out from underneath him to trot over towards Ritsu. Snatching his little brother up in a tight, enthusiastic hug is very much at odds with black leather and glitter, but whatever, he’s _getting_  that hug this time. “Ritsuuuu, thank you for coming to see me! Ah, you look so cute with your little hoodie and mask~” 

Koga, in a corner, quickly shoves his earbuds back into his ears, his focus entirely zeroed in on his guitar.

Ritsu thumps his fists against Rei’s shoulders, but probably not as hard as he should. That sudden burst of superhuman speed...well, if he buries his face in Rei’s chest just for a second, just for a single, nostalgic, longing second, who could blame him?

Then he starts twisting, annoyed. “Get off me, Aniija. You smell like seaweed.”

“Ahh, I dragged him to the ocean for a date. Super fun, even if he hid under an umbrella the whole time!”

I wish you’d drowned, Ritsu thinks rebelliously at Kaoru.

“It was terrible and I nearly died from the sun,” Rei sighs, hugging Ritsu even more tightly, nuzzling his face into his shoulder. Time to see if that stay-fast eyeliner is for real! “I can’t still smell like seaweed, there’s no way. Ritsu, you’re so cute, let me hold you a little longer…” 

Adonis sidles over to Koga, poking and tapping at his shoulder until he has no choice but to rip his earbuds out with a snarl. “ _What?_ ”

“Sakuma-sempai’s little brother is here.”

“You think I don’t know that?!”

“I thought you might like to talk to him—“

“No!”

“So rude, pupper,” Rei sniffs, petting Ritsu’s hair. “Ritsu is the cutest. You should be so lucky as to have him wish you a good performance!”

“I’m not gonna wish him a good performance,” Ritsu says flatly, not looking over at Koga. He hasn’t spoken a single word to Koga since that day in the abandoned classroom, avoiding him in every single class they’ve had for a week. “Let me go, stupid gross bug. I’m gonna kick you in the nuts.”

“Don’t do that,” Kaoru says with a laugh. “I’m using those.”

“ _Gross_ , Aniija, stop him, I wanna unhear that--”

“Call me ‘Onii-chan’ for good luck,” Rei pleads instead, giving Ritsu another squeeze. “Pleeease—“

“Leave him alone, just let him go,” Koga moodily cuts in, slamming his earbuds down into his chair as he climbs to his feet and stalks over to help pry Ritsu out of Rei’s arms. “Don’t kick your brother, Ritchii, he’s gotta perform or something.”

The sudden, close proximity of Koga and Ritsu makes it all… _click._  How strange, how that works; vampire physiology and smelling such intimate things is startling, and smelling it so clearly for the first time with another vampire… 

With a smile, Rei takes a step forward, snatching Ritsu calmly out of Koga’s hold, and tosses him over his shoulder as he walks to one of the private changing rooms.

Ritsu lets out a sudden squawk, flailing ineffectually as he’s grabbed and carted away when he was _just_ about to let Koga touch him for the first time, and man, he _hates_ how stupidly strong his stupid gross brother is. He hisses and spits, scratching with his nails at Rei’s arm with all the effect of scratching a brick wall. “Lemme go! Stop it, I’m gonna scream! I hate you!” 

Rei dumps Ritsu right onto his ass once he shuts the door behind them, and stands in front of it, a looming barrier with folded arms. “When did you drink from him?” he asks—no, demands, it’s a demand, he can hear that in his voice’s tone. “And why? Certainly you weren’t that desperate—“

“I didn’t! Drink--from who?” Ritsu demands, face flushed as he realize he’d denied the charge before asking what it was. Whatever, he’s a little brother, he can pull this off.

Rei’s stare is unimpressed. “I can smell it. I bet if I looked, I could find where you bit him.” 

Ritsu’s expression sours, and he folds his arms, glaring at his brother. “It’s none of your business. I didn’t get up in your face about Hakaze-kun--you didn’t even _tell_ me, you’re the _worst_.”

“Because I wanted to make sure it was _something_  before you went home and tattled to Mom!” Ah, for once, they sound like brothers, even though Rei is decidedly _not_  thinking about brotherly things—mostly, he’s thinking about Ritsu’s mouth on Koga’s neck, and how much that _irritates_  him when he adds on the inevitably of Koga being turned on, Koga touching Ritsu, Koga’s hands on him—

“What else did you do?” No, shut up, shut up, normal brothers don’t ask about this, or at least they don’t ask like they’re jealous and pissed. “Are you sleeping with him, too?”

Ritsu lashes out, punching Rei’s shoulder as hard as he can, face contorted in hot, embarrassed fury. “I hate you! That’s none of your fucking business--you left for a year, it’d serve you right if I was fucking the whole school!”

“Well, are you?” Rei snaps, finally losing his temper as he grabs Ritsu by the wrist, squeezing as his shoulder throbs. “You can’t just drink from whoever you want, Ritsu! Especially Koga—do you really want to drag him into our lives like that? And if you are fucking him—“ 

“I’m _not!!_ ” Ritsu yelps at the grab to his wrist, looking up with something like pain in his eyes that isn’t just physical. “I’m not! I don’t--if he said we had sex he’s a _liar_ , he--”

He bites his tongue, because at the moment, he’s so much more on Koga’s side than on his brother’s side it’s absurd. Rei doesn’t get to know that Koga came in his pants after ten seconds of clothed grinding. “I’m not dragging him into _anything_ , I just had a drink because I was hungry and he has good blood, you fucking bastard, let me _go!_ ”

Rei’s fingers tighten. “If you wanted a good drink, you could’ve asked our mom,” he mutters, knowing he’s being irrational, knowing he’s being _gross_ , but fuck it. He’s already in too deep. “I can smell him all over you, and you all over him. If you don’t want to tell me, fine, but I know it wasn’t ‘just a drink.’” 

Hearing himself sound so insanely, disgustingly possessive makes a lump form in his throat, and he releases Ritsu’s wrist with a shaky exhale. “He’s not even your favorite type. I thought—you and Isara—“

Ritsu tries to hold on to anger, he _tries_ , but even if he’s shouting, there are tears suddenly in his eyes at the mention of Mao’s name. “That’s _really_ none of your business!” he half-screams, looking around for something to throw at his stupid fucking brother. “You just assume _everything_ , this is the--this is the first time you’ve tried to _talk_ to me in over a _year_ , and you’re judging me about what I _eat??_ Why won’t you die already?”

“That’s not even fair! I’ve tried to talk to you a million times at school, but you always just ignore me, or run away—“ Frustration wells up in Rei’s voice until he has to glance away, raking a hand back through his hair. “It’s hard not to assume things when you tell me one thing, or lead me on to believe that it’s one thing, but then it’s the exact opposite! Since when were you and Koga even _close_  enough for you to feed on him?” 

“Since both of us missed you so much we didn’t have anyone to--that’s none of your business either, actually!” Ritsu sinks down to his knees, hugging himself so hard he might leave bruises on his own arms. “You’re a hypocrite. You’ve got your tongue down Hakaze’s throat every day in _publi_ c, I take one sip from Koga and you carry me off like a captive _bride_?”

“I don’t have my tongue down his throat, don’t exaggerate,” Rei exasperatedly says, knowing that he’s being honest about that for _sure_. He hasn’t even gotten a real kiss from Kaoru since day one—pecks on the mouth for shits and giggles don’t count, that’s for sure. “If you missed me so much, why don’t you want to spend _time_  with me?” he asks, dropping down to crouch in front of Ritsu and gingerly reaching out to try and pet his hair. “You’re my little brother, I have to be worried about who you’re drinking from, and who you might be… _involved_  with.” 

Ritsu looks up, eyes red around the edges, nose running, shoulders shaking. His voice is quiet and unstable when he whispers, “Is that...how it works? I don’t...know why you h-hate me.”

Rei’s heart hurts. _Fuck, why do I suck at this so much?_  he desperately thinks, grabbing Ritsu’s face up in his hands. “What? No! No, I don’t hate you, Ritsu, I love you,” he insistently says, exhaling a long, shaky breath. “I just…I don’t know what to do when I love you this much, you know? I suck, I know, I’m so bad at this, just…just try to bear with me, okay?” 

Ritsu blinks, and two huge wet tears spill down his cheeks with each flutter of his lashes. “I don’t even know who you _are_ ,” he whispers, wishing he could make a break for it, but knowing Rei is so much stronger than he is, so much faster. “You c-came back so _different_ , you care about things you--you never used to care about...it’s like there’s someone else w-wearing your skin, like those stories you used to tell me...”

“I’m…I’m really not _that_  different,” Rei manages with a startled laugh. “I’m just…Ritsu, I was so _tired_  of the way everything was before—acting pissed off at everything all the time, kicking down the doors of the student council, did you really want me to come back like that again?” He exhales, briefly shutting his eyes. “You’ve barely spent any time around me since I came home, how can you say I’m so different when you won’t even try to talk to me?” 

“You’ve been...” Ritsu drops his head, burying it in his knees, and his voice comes out muffled and forlorn. “Acting stupid. Dating Hakaze. Letting me dodge you--you always pushed me away before. Y-you left me alone in the dark.”

Things he shouldn’t focus on: the fact that Ritsu seems as upset about him dating Kaoru as Rei does about Ritsu…doing _whatever_  with Koga. He hesitates, and places a hand back onto the top of Ritsu’s hair, gently petting it. “Does it…does it really bother you that much that I’m dating Kaoru-kun? You could have told me. We could have—“ _Nope, nope, nope, shut up!_  He catches himself with a sharp breath, and bites his lip, staring briefly up at the ceiling. He has to say something, he has to, he has to clear the air or he’ll go insane. “Ritsu, the reason I left you—I didn’t—it’s not because I hate you, it’s because I—“

A knock on the door cuts him off, and it’s Adonis that cracks it open. “Sakuma-sempai, it’s almost time to start.” 

“Fine. That’s…yes, that’s fine.” Rei’s heart thuds too-fast in his chest, the confession that he almost spit out sticking to his tongue, resting as a heavy, agonizing weight on his shoulders, and he wobbles as he pulls himself back. “Ritsu—you can stay backstage, if you want.”

Ritsu’s hand shoots up, grabbing Rei’s. “Don’t say anything to Koga,” he says softly, not looking at his brother. There’s something between them now, even if he doesn’t know what it is, and it hangs in the air, heavy and thick. “He was just trying to make me feel better. And you...you hurt his feelings pretty bad. So leave him alone.”

Rei’s brow furrows. _How did I hurt his feelings?_  he almost asks, and then it occurs to him—ah. Right. Dating Hakaze Kaoru. Or rather, _pretending_  to date Hakaze Kaoru. God, that does always slip his mind, doesn’t it. 

That needs to stop.

“…I’m not going to say anything to him.” He swallows, giving Ritsu’s hand a squeeze before releasing it. “He’s a good kid. I…I’m not mad at him.”

“I should date him. It’d serve you right.” 

But there’s no rancor in the words, and Ritsu sniffs, tugging himself to his feet and rubbing at his face. “I’ll be in the audience by the time you go on. Don’t suck.”

“I won’t.” _Last chance, dumbass,_  his mind cheerfully reminds him, and Rei ignores it, no matter how it takes _effort_ to move towards the door. “I…thank you for coming to see me, Ritsu. It means a lot.” _Please don’t date Koga_  is also on the tip of his tongue, but he can’t say that, not now. 

Jittery, overstimulated nerves are all he is now. Brushing past Adonis, Rei makes a beeline for his coat, snatching it up and on. His gloves and hat follow, and he ignores the way that Koga stares at him warily—for a second, at least. 

“Time to kill it tonight, huh?” Rei’s eyes glitter, his face flushed from the need to go onto stage and _perform_ , needing this energy out of his body _now._  “This isn’t crashing someone else’s party. This is for us.”

Kaoru shrugs into his jacket, then tugs his hat down to his forehead, bouncing a few times on the balls of his feet. Energy surges through him, ready to form a lightning strike right to some lucky girl--no, not tonight, he’s not allowed to do that tonight. He sighs, and says out of the corner of his mouth, “You better get ready to be the recipient of all my sexy wiles, Sakuma-san. All that appeal has to go somewhere.”

Rei’s gaze flicks sideways to Kaoru. “I’ve been ready. Do us all a favor and don’t hold back.”

“Oi,” Koga mutters, scratching at the back of his neck. “Can you two stop being gross for a sec?”

Entirely on a whim, Rei claps a hand down onto Koga’s shoulder, squeezing hard. “You know that solo of yours in _Melody in the Dark?”_

“Uh—yeah—“

“Just fucking destroy it.” 

Koga stares at him for a moment, and then, much like a dog starting to wag its tail, he nods firmly, clutching at his guitar. “Yeah. Yeah, I got it, Sakuma-sempai, I’m fucking _ready!_ ”

Rei’s smile isn’t without a brilliant flash of fangs. “Let’s do this, then!”

Even a performance as charged as this isn’t enough to make the blood stop pounding in Rei’s veins. His heart won’t stop thudding too-fast no matter how many lyrics he screams, no matter how much he sweats, no matter how many cheering, shrieking girls throw themselves at the stage. Every limb aches, his vision doubling underneath the brilliantly bright lights, and his breath is short and stuck in his chest as he bends deep for their last bows. 

And he can’t stop feeling like it’s not enough.

Maybe if he had spit out that confession to Ritsu, that would have made this enough. Maybe if he wasn’t such a piece of shit when it came to Koga, that would have made all of this enough. He’s a piece of shit when it comes to Kaoru, too—the empty, needless flirting on stage for the sake of _what?_  Building up their fans again? Making his mother leave him alone? Convincing himself that he can actually pretend to date someone that isn’t his own little brother?

That hasn’t happened yet, and he needs to. 

As he straightens, Rei reaches, grabbing for Kaoru’s sweat-soaked shirt and yanking him close. He locks eyes with him, just for a moment, and then gives up, shrugging off lingering hesitation to haul him close as he sinks a hand into Kaoru’s hair and kisses him hard, shoving his tongue into his mouth for a proper taste, a proper _kiss_.

The energy already thrums through Kaoru’s body with every cheer of the crowd, and he’s sweaty, he’s charged up, he’s ready for the lightning to strike--

He’s not at _all_ ready for the way Rei kisses.

The energy between them is swift and electrifying, the slick heat of Rei’s mouth suddenly _claiming_ him so hard his mind short-circuits, leaving him clinging to Rei’s hands, panting into his mouth, and suddenly his knees buckle. With just one whimper into his microphone, his knees hit the stage.

And the crowd goes goddamn _berserk_.

Rei’s never actually heard a crowd make _those_  noises before—but there’s a first time for everything, including shrieks of, “Rei-sama! Rei-sama, step on him!” 

“Kaoru-chan, ganbare!!”

“Kiss him again, kiss him again!”

A girl’s cardigan actually makes it up onto the stage, which is pretty adventuresome, for Japanese girls that don’t know _what_  they’re doing. Rei breathlessly laughs, and reaches down to grab Kaoru’s hand, hauling him up to his feet, no matter how he wobbles. “Kaoru-kun,” he breathes, a scarce few centimeters from his microphone, “you’re not allowed to fall down just yet.”

Which, of course, just makes the girls shriek all the more. Koga rolls his eyes, Adonis doesn’t seem to be understanding _why_  this is all such a big deal, and Rei laughs, sweeping another, low bow before he drags Kaoru close to him, a hand shoved down into the back pocket of his pants.

Kaoru somehow manages to stumble back to his feet, laughing and waving at the crowd, feeding off of their wild shrieks, taking their energy and transmuting it into his own. He waves again, and gets a little of his own back, purposely grabbing at Rei’s ass and squeezing, leaning close to get to his ear, much to a renewed cheer. “We should cut it,” he whispers, out of the corner of his mouth farthest away from his mike, “before someone comes to stop us. Leave at the high.”

Rei nods, even though his eyes are on the crowd, scanning it, hoping for a glimpse of Ritsu—no, no, he’s not looking for Ritsu, fuck it. He sucks in a ragged breath and takes a step back, dragging Kaoru with him. “Thank you again, every last one of you!” he calls out as he waves, and between Koga’s snarling and Adonis’s ripping off his sweaty shirt as he bows, the crowd has their fill of every single thing they possibly could want tonight. 

Which is good, because Rei now feels drained, like he’s been fed from, like their audience sucked them dry…and ahh, that’s satisfying.

It doesn’t stop him from dragging Kaoru backstage, however, refusing to let him go. Drained he might be, but overstimulated he is even more so, with his head spinning, mind still going a million miles a minute and unable to settle, and so he thoughtlessly grabs for Kaoru’s face again, dragging him close and kissing him again, long and wet and sucking on Kaoru’s tongue.

“At least move out of the way if you’re gonna make out,” Koga exasperatedly says, a sort of resigned distaste clouding his face as he packs up his guitar, wiping sweat off of his face. 

It’s just pretend, Kaoru wants to say, but Rei is grabbing at him like he’s the last lifeline, like he’s the only thing that makes sense--Kaoru knows that feeling all too well, even if he’s pretty good at hiding it in himself.

He also can’t deny that this is the hottest kiss he’s ever had. Shit, shouldn’t the hottest kiss he’s ever had be with a girl? It definitely _should_ , but...but Rei’s tongue tastes like secrets, his mouth hot and wet and hungry, teeth sharp, and Kaoru loses his mind a little bit. He shoves Rei up against the nearest wall, stepping up hard to grind a thigh between Rei’s, sucking urgently at Rei’s lower lip until it’s red and swollen.

_Narrowing his world down to nothing but Kaoru’s mouth, to the dull sounds of the crowd just beyond—it’s such a relief that he doesn’t have to think about anything else, and Rei needs that._

Rei pants against Kaoru’s mouth, his hat hitting the ground when his back hits the wall, and his hands grab at Kaoru’s ass, yanking him forward, squeezing hard as he arches up and off the wall. Shoving his hips against Kaoru’s thigh feels like heaven, and when his teeth nick against Kaoru’s tongue, just a little, it’s enough to make the tiniest pricks of blood drip into their kiss. Rei groans, low and hungry, and he lurches off the wall to claim Kaoru’s mouth in another kiss that lets him taste Kaoru all the more until he has to pull back to breathe, lips sticky, a slick, shiny strand of saliva the only thing connecting them for a moment before his tongue flicks out to break it. _It’s just pretend!_ —yeah, that’s totally what he’s thinking about when he grabs for Kaoru’s belt.

I should be stopping this, Kaoru thinks dazedly, rocking his hips against Rei’s. It’s the same thought he’d had when Kanata had climbed on top of him, and has about the same effect: namely, that he doesn’t do a goddamn thing to stop it from happening. Instead, he grinds hard against Rei, his mouth falling open, hands sliding down to hook in Rei’s beltloops, yanking them close.

“...was gonna say hi,” Ritsu says from a couple meters away, his voice flat and cold. “But I guess he’s busy. Corgi, buy me a juice.”

_“Yeah, they’re like that right now,” Koga wearily says, a towel draped over his head as he climbs to his feet, heaving a sigh. “What kind you want, Ritchii?”_

The sound of Ritsu’s voice, for better or for worse, drags Rei back down to earth. He groans, his head thunking back against the wall, frustration making him squeeze his eyes shut as he puts a hand on Kaoru’s chest. He can feel the way Kaoru’s heart thuds, the heat of his skin underneath his hand, and it takes some _serious_  effort to put a stop to the way his hips want to grind forward and the way his knees want to buckle so he can get his mouth on—“Ritsu, sorry—sorry,” he manages, prying himself away, stooping to pick up his hat as he hurries over. He belatedly remembers to wipe his mouth, though there’s not much he can do about swollen lips and flushed cheeks. “Got kinda caught up—did you have fun? What’d you think?” 

Ritsu turns to Rei, eyes dull, then slowly turns away, addressing Koga instead. “Your solo was badass. I haven’t heard you shred like that before--totally raised the level of this kinda gross group.”

“Mean,” Kaoru says under his breath, yanking his clothes back into place with flushed cheeks. Rei is distracted, so he takes the opportunity to duck out, avoiding any awkward conversations when shit, shit, he’d kissed Rei because he’d _liked_ it, because he’d _wanted_ it, not because of the fake dating thing...or, no, it had just been the moment, right? That doesn’t have to mean anything--as long as he leaves now, which he is.

_Goooo after him! Go on, go, go, go!_

Apparently, no matter how much he tells himself that, it’s just not going to happen.

Instead, Rei remains firmly fixated on trying to get Ritsu’s attention, no matter how much his legs still wobble and his mouth still _longs_  to be pressed up against Kaoru’s again. “Don’t call us gross, Ritsu,” he whines, grabbing for Ritsu’s arm. “We all sounded great, right? You know ‘Honey Milk’? I wrote that for—“

“Thanks, Ritchii,” Koga interrupts, shoving a juice bottle into Ritsu’s grasp, still too awkward to really meet his eyes, but at least they’re _talking_  now. “Been workin’ on that for awhile, so I’m…glad you could hear it.”

Ritsu takes the juice--not his favorite, but a mediocre flavor that he likes well enough--and slaps at his brother’s hand. He doesn’t exactly meet Koga’s eyes, but he does jerk his head. “If you wanna talk,” he mumbles, “I’d rather talk to you than this gross bug.”

Koga hesitates, then nods shakily, still a ball of nervous energy after being on stage. “Yeah. Okay.” 

“Ritsu—“

“Badass performance, right, you stupid bastard?” Koga interrupts again, scuffing his boot against the ground. He’s gotta be the bigger man here and _not_  freak out about Rei making out with Kaoru all over the place, he’s _gotta._  “Thanks for writing all those solos in for me.” 

Before Rei can start gushing over him, calling him weird names or touching his hair, Koga grabs Ritsu’s wrist awkwardly to tug him along. “I gotta get some air or something,” he says with a breathless, nervous laugh. “I’m sweaty and gross, tonight was something else.” 

“Fuck him,” Ritsu says, eyes alight with sudden ferocious energy, grabbing Koga’s hand and starting to run. “C’mon, I don’t want him to catch us. Keep up.” It’s nighttime, and he’d had a proper drink recently, so his energy is high as hell, giving him life.

“Wh—Ritchii, what the hell,” Koga protests, even as he lets Ritsu drag him—or more correctly, jogs pretty easily with him to keep the hell up. He rips his hat off, exasperated. “He’s too busy thinking about boning Hakaze-sempai, he’s not gonna come after us!” 

Ritsu yanks Koga around a corner and behind a wall, peeking around to see if Rei’s following, finally relaxing when they’re not being followed. “He’s super weird today. Not taking any chances. Ahhh, we should play a game--do you play soccer?” The nervous energy suffusing his veins won’t stop _beating_.

“Uh, I mean, yeah, sure? Ritchii, you’ve gotta chill out, though, I just got done doing a damned concert, I’m tired,” Koga complains, wiping a hand down his face. “And it’s the middle of the night—what’s up, seriously? What was he talking to you about earlier?” 

Ritsu flops back against the wall, digging his fingers into the cool stone, catching his breath as his tongue darts out to lick at his lips. “He thinks we’re fucking,” he says bluntly. “He can smell that I had a drink--he’s such a gross hypocrite, telling me I have to tell him who I mess around with when he never told me about Hakaze.”

Koga blinks over at him, and his face slowly colors before he looks away, shifting uncomfortably. “No wonder he’s been so fucking weird around me lately—I mean, weirder than usual,” he groans, raking a hand back through his hair. “Fuck, I’m sorry, I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea—it, uh, really didn’t occur to me that vampires drinking blood and fucking each other was like, a symbiotic thing? But then when you bit me—ugh, you know what, I don’t wanna talk about that.” 

Ritsu blinks slowly at Koga, bringing his hand up, thumbing over his own lower lip. It’s easy to remember how it had tasted, how it had felt to feel Koga’s blood bursting onto his tongue, and he shivers a little, staying a full step back. “It wasn’t anything weird. I was just hungry. Sorry he’s making it so weird.”

“I feel like I made it fucking weird,” Koga admits with a ragged, embarrassed laugh. He shrugs, glancing up just in time to watch the way that Ritsu’s thumb brushes over his own mouth—and ha, that’s really not fair, is it? _Stupid sexy pretty Sakuma brothers,_ he angrily thinks, and stares pointedly back down at his shoes. “I’m not saying you can’t still drink from me or whatever if you need to. I just, uh…you know what, there’s no nice way to say it. You were kind of a cock tease, what the hell.” 

Ritsu’s mouth falls open, eyes wide. “Eh? How? You’re the one who messed up your pants. Then I couldn’t even _use_ it, what was I supposed to do with it when it was empty?” He’s got a great handle on sex for _sure_.

“You kept rubbing against it, it’s not my fault that happened! _I_  was trying to _escape_ , but your weird vampire venom stuff made that really fucking hard!” Boy, Koga hopes no one overhears them. They would both end up in a mental hospital for sure. “If you do that kinda shit to a guy, _they’re_  gonna come—ugh, I can’t believe I’m talking to you about this, your brother’s gonna kill me.” At this point, that would even be fair.

Ritsu reaches up, scratching at his head. “Is that how it works? Don’t worry about him. If he wanted me to know it better, he shoulda told me himself. I’ll scratch his eyes out if he comes after you for it. So, all I have to do is sit on it and you’ll come in your pants again?”

“I—no. I mean. Fuck, probably,” Koga glumly mutters, his face burning. “But can you not? That’s not really fun for either of us. Just…if you need a drink, just ask, and I’ll deal with it later. ’s not like you’ve got an obligation or something, geez.” 

Ritsu sighs, stuffing his hands into his pockets. It was too much to ask that Koga actually liked him back or wanted to...

God, he’s being dumb. Maybe it runs in the family. His brother is just as bad if not worse. “Yeah. Okay. Sorry for dragging you out here, you should go back...your fans might still be waiting.”

Koga snorts at that, still staring down at the ground. “Yeah right. You know what those girls like? Your brother. Hakaze-sempai. Otogari. I’m kinda secondary to all of them.”

He exhales a long breath, and loosens the collar around his neck until it’s off completely, and he stuffs it into one of his pockets. “Get over here and have a sip or something,” he gruffly adds. “You look a lot better when you’re actually fucking fed. I’ve never even seen you run before now.”

Ritsu’s pulse thuds suddenly hot and strong under his skin in anticipation, and he takes an involuntary step forward. “You--you really don’t mind?” he asks, licking his lips, eyes fixed to the fading mark on Koga’s neck. “But we’re in public. You’re gonna get a stiffy.”

“I’m gonna sit down and glare at it until it goes away is what I’m gonna do. At least you didn’t do it on stage or something, god.”

Ritsu worries at his bottom lip. Rei could come over here at any minute, but... “Or we can go somewhere private,” he suggests, hardly recognizing his own voice. “And I could suck it.”

Whoo. Okay. That’s a lot of blood rushing south before Ritsu has done _anything_  like biting him. “Uh,” Koga manages, his voice higher than usual, “you don’t like— _have_  to. D’you, heh, d’you know what saying that kinda shit does to a guy?”

“No,” Ritsu says frankly, folding his arms over his chest. “No one’s ever said it to me. If you don’t want to, whatever, gimme your neck.”

“Didn’t say I didn’t want to, fucking hell,” Koga hurriedly chokes out, stumbling over as if he’s being pulled by an invisible string. “Either way, you can bite me, it’s fine—just—shit, if I said I wanted to suck your dick, wouldn’t that turn you on?” 

Ritsu pauses to think about that for a moment, then nods. “Yeah. It would. So...do you wanna? We shouldn’t do it, like, on the street, right?” If he’s lucky, his brother will see and feel like shit.

“No, fuck, we definitely shouldn’t do it on the street.” Koga hesitates, gnawing on his lip, and he grabs Ritsu’s hand, figuring _what the hell, why not take this chance, it’s probably a weird fucking dream, anyway._ “We can go to my house. I live real close to the school, and my parents are probably already asleep for the night.” 

Ritsu threads his fingers through Koga’s, and compares that strong, calloused hand to Mao’s with a lurch of his chest. He squeezes, trying to banish that, banish Rei, and follows along. “You get a lot of blowjobs, Corgi? I haven’t had any.”

“I, uh…I mean…girls don’t usually…” Koga trails off, tugging Ritsu along behind him, trying not to think about how _Sakuma Rei_ is supposed to be the exception to every single one of his rules, but here he is with _Sakuma Ritsu_ —no, fuck it. It’s just this family, he firmly tells himself. That’s what it is. “Are you seriously a virgin?” 

“Yeah. I was gonna do it with Maa~kun, but something went wrong.”

“I’m gonna die,” Koga says with a nervous laugh before he can help himself. “Sorry. Sorry, I’ll stop assuming your brother’s gonna kill me. Whaddya mean, it went wrong?” 

“Oh. Maa~kun didn’t wanna do it.”

“Uh…I mean, yeah, I guess that’s a pretty big part of it.” Koga hesitates, pausing at a crosswalk. “Gotta admit, I was pretty surprised when you said I was the first one you ever even drank from.” 

Ritsu stares at the back of Koga’s head, at the pink-tinged curve of one ear poking out of his hair, and yawns. “I’m not that good at people. I’m bad at making them like me. I like Corgi, though.”

“That’s just an excuse. You’re cute, people are gonna like you automatically,” Koga exasperatedly says, and true enough, it’s only another block before he turns down a short side street and heads into the residential area. His house is a modest one, with all of the lights off already except for one downstairs and one by the front door, and he fishes out his keys. “Just be quiet ‘till we get to my room…and don’t rile Leon up, he’s tryin’ to get a good night’s sleep.” 

Ritsu tries to imagine walking softly so he doesn’t wake up a dog. For that matter, he tries to imagine walking softly so he doesn’t wake up a human, and still comes up incredibly short. But if that’s what he’s supposed to do, fine. He follows in Koga’s footsteps, toeing off his shoes and creeping through the hallways, mindful to step lightly. “Your folks,” he whispers, “go to bed crazy early.”

Koga pauses outside of his bedroom, staring at Ritsu. “…It’s past 10, dumbass,” he says with a quiet snort of laughter, and lets them both in, flipping on his bedroom light. “And my dad has to get up to work early in the morning. Ahh, or it the vampire thing? I guess this must be like morning to you.” 

“My folks are never asleep at night,” Ritsu agrees. “Probably the vampire thing, yeah.” He looks around--band posters deck the walls, and he almost turns an ankle on a mountain of dog toys and broken stripped bones. At least there’s a Western-style bed, which looks...kind of uncomfortable, but whatever, it’s nighttime and he’s got half an erection in his pants already. 

He flops onto the bed--yeah, not great, but would certainly do in a pinch--and reaches out, hungry. “I wanna drink. Gimme.”

Ritsu needs to stop being cute. Koga worries at his lower lip, stripping off his coat and tossing it over the back of a chair before he crawls onto the bed, still somewhat hesitant in the way he moves. “Here,” he says, tugging down his shirt. He can still feel the tiny bruise where Ritsu drank from him before, and it makes him shiver. 

Ritsu leans in eagerly, then pulls back, frowning. “Not there. Not yet. I...” He reaches up, thumbing gently over the small dark purple blotch on Koga’s neck. “I messed up there, now there’s bad blood. Lemme do it somewhere else.”

“Whaddya mean, you messed up?” Koga grumbles, rubbing at the spot again as he draws back. “You’re not gonna kill me, are you?” He sounds exasperated at best, though heh, dying by Ritsu biting him is a little scary, what the heck. “Fine, where else do you wanna drink? Wrist or something?” 

“I dunno.” Ritsu taps a finger against his lip, and inhales deeply. “You shouldn’t have a bruise, you only do ‘cuz I messed it up, so I’m gonna do it better this time. Ahh...you smell the best...nn, the inside of your biceps, or your thigh, I think.”

_It’s totally not hot that Sakuma Ritsu thinks I smell good in some pretty intimate places or anything_. Koga swallows hard, shifting as he rocks back, a hand hesitantly going down to his belt. “If you mess up again…at least no one can see it down here,” he mutters. And getting out of tight leather sounds really good right now, besides. 

Ritsu’s eyes widen. He’d wanted it, wants it still, but he’s not entirely prepared for how Koga reaching for his belt makes heat pool in his belly, hot and thirsty. “Yeah. You gotta take your pants off, you...you gotta, I wanna see it.”

It’s not like he’s got any body shame or anything, but—fuck, if Ritsu’s sudden eagerness doesn’t make him nervous. Messing around with a girl is one thing; _either_  goddamn Sakuma is something different, because shit, they’re both gorgeous, and Ritsu is pretty and cute and _apparently_ , really into seeing his dick. 

“You’re not gonna try and drink _blood_  from it, are you?” Koga asks with a wry laugh, not even sure if he should put it past Ritsu to try or not. He slides off of the bed to get out of his pants, which cling to him courtesy of sweat and being way too tight to begin with. “Cuz, uh, I’m gonna draw the line there.”

“If I wanted to, you couldn’t stop me,” Ritsu says absently, reaching into his lap and squeezing his own cock, trying to calm himself down enough to really enjoy this. Hopefully he’ll be better at this than Koga and not immediately cream his pants. “But I won’t, it would be pretty weird. You should come sit down and spread your legs, though. Damn...” He squeezes a little harder. “You’ve got a really hot body. Heh.” _Take that, stupid Aniija. I bet Hakaze is all scrawny. Koga’s ripped._

“Y’know, you’d be cuter if you didn’t talk about the shit that I can’t stop,” Koga grumbles, stripping off his shirt too before crawling back into bed, his face flushed from a mix of those compliments and watching Ritsu palm himself like that. “Just…however you wanna do it, ’s fine. If you mess up again, don’t tell me, I don’t wanna think about dying.” 

Ritsu nods. “Yeah, okay. I won’t tell you. Don’t worry, I got good practice last time. I’m gonna do it better this time.”

With the energy he’s seriously enjoying, he shoves Koga down to his back, then yanks his legs open, nuzzling down against one thigh. The proud jut of Koga’s cock, the heady smell of it and the fascinating way it changes colors, would distract him from anything else--except that the thrum of blood is so strong here, the artery so big and thick and _available_ , he can’t think of anything else. _Slowly. Don’t fuck it up this time, he obviously likes it plenty, he’ll let you keep doing it if you’re nice._

Rei had warned him before that he bites too hard, so he’s _careful_ this time, letting his fangs come out, taking a deep breath, then sinking them--yes, _perfectly_ \--into the throbbing artery, feeling the salty-sweet flood shock his tongue so much better, more accurately than the last time.

This time, it’s different.

Before, it had felt tingly, strange, a little overwhelmingly so. This time when Ritsu bites, it feels like heat has been deliberately injected into his veins, and all of it rushes straight to his cock—for some reason or another. 

Hearing Ritsu slurping on him makes Koga whimper, and his hands compulsively lift to sink into Ritsu’s hair before they start feeling too floppy and useless to do _anything._  “Fuck,” he gasps, his head knocking back against the headboard of his bed, his eyes fluttering. “Ritchii…s-shit, is it…is it supposed to feel that good?”

Ritsu carefully disengages his fangs, swiping his tongue gently, eagerly over the little holes he’d created, letting the enzymes in his saliva sterilize the holes. Energy crackles under his skin, making him feel more alive than he ever has, as if he too could lift grand pianos with one hand, as if he could be everything that his brother is, as if he could honestly turn himself into a bat and fly away from everything that bothers him. Looking up, seeing Koga’s flushed, aroused face, he nuzzles into that thigh, pleased with himself. _I did it right. I made him like it, I made him happy, I didn’t fuck it up at all._ “Yeah, he says softly, letting his other hand rub at Koga’s other thigh, squeezing the sensitive skin and hard muscle there. “That’s what it’s supposed to feel like. Nnh, you want the other thing I promised, or...?” Koga does, he’s sure, but it would be nice to be asked.

What does it say about him that he’s probably never been so turned on in his life? Sure, sure, it’s gotta be partly the venom in Ritsu’s bite, the weird side effects that come with it, but that doesn’t change how much Koga squirms at the mere suggestion, or how his fingers clutch at Ritsu’s hair, practically begging him not to pull away. “Please,” he groans, sagging back, his toes curling just when Ritsu’s fucking _breath_  makes his cock twitch. “I don’t…don’t know how long I’ll last this time, either, b-but shit, if you just put your mouth on it…” 

Ritsu really wants to tease Koga a little more, but he can’t resist leaning in, desperately curious to see what it tastes like. Will it taste like it smells? Will it taste really salty, or bitter? Will it taste like the throbbing blood roiling just beneath the surface, and will that taste different than usual if he accidentally bites down? 

No, don’t think about biting his penis. That’s bad.

Instead he flicks his tongue over the tip, then drags it over the head, licking up the moisture collecting there. “I’m...gonna enjoy this,” he mutters, and dives down, mouth open as far as it’ll go, fitting the head inside, retracting his fangs as far as possible. Whoo, not biting when there’s flesh in his mouth is _hard_.

_“Fuck,” Koga hears himself whimper before he realizes he’s actually speaking, his fingers twitching helplessly as they cling to Ritsu’s hair, buried in close to his scalp. Ritsu’s mouth isn’t fair—hot and slick and eager on his dick, and the little edge of his teeth is less scary, more really, really fucking sexy, and Koga frantically has to wonder what’s wrong with him for thinking that way._

He tries _so_  hard not to just thrust up against his tongue, but there’s no helping it. His hips shove up with a throaty groan, and he swallows hard when he feels the head of his cock bumping against the roof of Ritsu’s mouth, against the back of his throat. “S-sorry—sorry, fuck,” Koga pants out, tipping his head back as his thighs twitch and tremble and ache from the need to have his cock buried down Ritsu’s throat. “Your mouth feels—so fucking good—“

Ritsu coughs, pulling off and gagging to the side, his eyes watering freely as he looks up, accusing. “You’re choking me. Be careful, what if I bite on accident?” 

Then, just to mix signals, he dives back down, dragging his tongue along the base, then pulling his head back, saliva dripping from his lips down the shaft. It doesn’t just taste bitter and salty, but _manly_ , and his own cock throbs between his thighs. If Koga doesn’t take care of it this time, he’ll probably just tie Koga up and take what he wants, the dumb dog.

“H-how am I supposed to be careful when you—“ Koga’s voice chokes up in his throat, and so help him, he _can’t_  stop the way his fingers tighten in Ritsu’s hair, shoving his head down just a few more centimeters, just to make _sure_  he’s got his mouth far enough down on his cock when he comes. 

He means to warn Ritsu, he really does, but the only thing that leaves his mouth is a broken, garbled whimper when he spills over Ritsu’s tongue hot and fast and eager. Belatedly, dazedly, he thinks about loosening his hand on Ritsu’s hair, and manages with a great deal of effort, his chest heaving. _Not two seconds this time, that’s kinda better!_  

Ritsu finally pulls off when Koga lets him, eyes red-rimmed, something white dripping from his nose, looking grumpy but satisfied. “Gonna teach you manners at some point, Corgi,” he rasps, voice a bit raw.

“Sorry,” Koga groans, flopping back bonelessly, his hands still shaking when he tries to pet Ritsu’s hair. “Really sorry. T-that venom you shitty vampires have, it really…really makes everything feel like a lot _more._ ” 

Ritsu wipes his face, then moves up, curling against Koga’s chest. It still feels kind of wrong, like he should be here with Mao instead, but he squashes that feeling down. “I should do it to you when I’m not biting you and see if you’re any better.”  


“I’m better, promise,” Koga murmurs, burying his face into Ritsu’s hair and inhaling deeply. He can feel how hard Ritsu is against his thigh, and he shifts, hesitantly brushing his fingertips down Ritsu’s stomach, curling his fingers into the waistband of his pants. “D’you want me to give you one? Or whatever else you want…” 

“Don’t bother,” Ritsu mutters, resting his chin on Koga’s chest and blinking slowly at him. “What I want--it won’t work if you’re like this.”

“Huh?” Koga blinks back at him. “Whaddya mean? C’mon, Ritchii, lemme take care of you, too.” 

“Then get hard again.” 

It takes Koga’s fuzzy, muddled mind a second to catch up. “Wh—oh. Ah. Um.” He licks his lips, a mix of nervous and excited. “Ritchii…you told me you’ve never had a blowjob before, are you sure you wanna—“ 

Ritsu shrugs. “You don’t have to,” he says, as if it couldn’t matter less to him, even though his heart is thudding in anticipation. “I just want my first time to be the whole thing, not just blowjobs and stuff. I dunno, I always wanted it that way.”

“I mean—I respect that, I just, uh…you know what, fuck it, sure, I’m gonna die anyway,” Koga says with a breathless laugh, rolling to the side to shove a hand into the drawer next to his nightstand and rummage. Hidden in the mess of guitar picks and tissues and pens has got to be a condom, _somewhere_ , and maybe a bottle of the lotion he uses when he jerks off. “Make out with me for like, a minute, and I’ll get hard again. You’re hot.” 

Ritsu blinks up at Koga, arranging himself on his back, palming himself through his trousers _again_ , though he’s so hard now it’s getting painful. “I am?” he asks, a little uncertain. His brother is sexy, sure. That’s why Koga likes him. Ritsu gets that. But him? Shy, awkward, not knowing how people work or how to make them happy, never as big or strong or tall or handsome or good at music--that’s him, not the suave, attractive older brother. His smile falters, hand stilling. “You don’t have to lie.”

Koga’s brow furrows. “…You don’t think you’re hot, Ritchii?” he asks with a laugh, disbelieving every word of that. He rolls to the side, mouthing a kiss to Ritsu’s neck, then up to his ear, sucking on the lobe of it with a low little groan. “You’re so fucking pretty that I can’t believe you’d _ever_  wanna do any of this with me,” he murmurs. “And I think it’s sexy how pushy you are about this kinda stuff.” 

As if that’s some kind of a secret code, Ritsu lunges up, stealing Koga’s mouth in a kiss, somehow managing to wrap all four limbs around his body, pulling him so close there’s no room between them, biting hungrily at Koga’s lips, just barely stopping himself from bringing out the fangs. He wraps his legs around Koga’s hips, letting Koga feel how _hard_ he is, which for once doesn’t feel out of place on his confused developing body. “I wanna do _lots_ of things with you,” he whispers, eyes blazing red. “But I want you to do them _to_ me.”

Ah. Shit. Yeah. Apparently he said the right thing, thank fucking god. 

Ritsu’s kissing him like he’s hungry, and he’s so hard against him that Koga’s mind clicks off. With a growl, he rolls them, shoving Ritsu flat onto his back and kissing him as hard as he’s wanted to since Ritsu first bit him, since that first, embarrassing time he came in his pants just from Ritsu rubbing on him. He can feel the tiny pricks of Ritsu’s fangs, and his tongue grazes them, a hiccuping breath caught in his throat when he feels himself bleed, which just makes his own cock harder. 

“I’m gonna fuck you,” Koga rasps, yanking open Ritsu’s pants, shifting to adjust no matter how they’re pressed up against one another so that those pants can be _off_. “That’s—that’s what you want, yeah?”

Ritsu nods urgently, squeezing his legs around Koga’s hips, rocking up against him once, twice, before he stops, trembling, biting his own lip. “Gotta--I don’t wanna come too soon,” he whispers, squirming to kick off his pants. “Tell me how to do it.”

“It’s okay if you do, it’s hot.” Koga doesn’t _want_  to pull away, but he’s got to grab for that bottle of lotion before he loses his mind. He gnaws at his own lower lip as he squirts _way_  too much onto his hand in his haste, and decides he doesn’t care, because biting at Ritsu’s shoulder is more fun, and shoving that hand down between his legs is even better. “You ever fingered yourself before, Ritchii?” he breathes, his eyes bright, fingers trembling and eager as they drag against that tight hole. He doesn’t care how quickly Ritsu comes—the _important_  thing here is _he’s gonna let me fuck him, holy shit._   

“Y-yeah,” Ritsu breathes, eyes darting around the room as if someone’s going to put him in jail for admitting that. His hips rut up, trying to get more of that friction, more contact, sucking in a breath when Koga’s hands are _so_ good, seeking and deft, touching him in ways he’s barely tried on himself. The brush to his hole makes him suck in his breath, eyes alight. “I liked it. I could--I could have more.” This makes him wish he had a cuter nickname for Koga, but it’s too much freaking work to deal with that now.

“Mmnn. Yeah, yeah, I bet you can,” Koga mutters distractedly, his breath hot and ragged against Ritsu’s neck as he gives into the urge to slide a finger inside. With Ritsu rutting up like that so desperately, there’s no denying him, and how tight Ritsu is around just one finger makes Koga’s head thunk down with a whimper. Girls are one thing. He can _handle_  the way girls are, the predictable way they act…but boys? Hah, fuck, no amount of ‘casual’ research leaves him ready for the way Ritsu writhes against him. “I’m gonna fuck you so hard,” he breathlessly promises, probably too clumsy in the way he curls that finger inside, but fuck, he _does_  want Ritsu to feel good. 

Ritsu kicks his feet wildly, luckily not hitting Koga anywhere vital, and grabs at the pillows, grabbing one and biting down on it until he hears fabric tear. It feels like a _lot_ more when it’s someone else’s hand, and he pants hard into the fabric until he throws it to the side, whimpering and scratching at Koga’s broad chest. “Good,” he whines, legs trembling, back arching, squeezing down hard on that finger. “God, Corgi, I’m not--gonna get enough, you gotta--”

Ritsu scratching and kicking and flailing is hotter than it should be, and Koga wonders if there’s something wrong with him for thinking that. He shoves Ritsu down with his other hand, a long, sucking kiss to the side of his neck leaving a dark bruise…that he can’t help but follow up by biting down, almost trying to hold him in place with that bite along as he shoves another finger inside, feeling that squeeze get tighter, no matter how he spreads those fingers and tries to make it _easier_. 

He can feel how Ritsu’s cock still throbs, so he _must_  be doing something right. “Keep your fucking voice down,” he growls. “Or do I need to shove your face into a pillow?” 

“That one,” Ritsu groans, trying to wiggle down to get _more_ , to squeeze down to make the fingers feel bigger already. His mouth is slack and eager, legs spread, and he tries to turn over to make it easier...but damn, he doesn’t want to do _anything_ that means Koga’s fingers won’t be in him anymore. “F-figure it out, I want your cock!” He might have yelled that last bit too loudly, just to force the issue.

Ritsu’s way too fucking noisy, and it’s why Koga gives up with a grunt of irritation. He pulls out his hand, as carefully as he fucking can when Ritsu’s clinging to him inside and out, and flips him over mid-sentence to shove his face down into the bed. “Don’t wake my parents up,” he hisses, nipping at the back of Ritsu’s neck. His own cock is harder still at the way Ritsu looks like this—pale skin sweaty and flushed with his ass hiked up, and yep, this is something straight out of his this will never, ever happen kind of fantasies. 

Condom—yeah, that’s the next step, he’s fucking got this. His fingers nearly rip it in his haste to get it on, and there’s another bit of lotion dragged down his cock afterwards. “So fucking demanding,” he mutters, his breath hiccuping as the head of his cock bumps at Ritsu’s hole, his hands squeezing around Ritsu’s hips. “Fuck, you’re gonna feel so good.” 

He’s not wrong—he’s not wrong at all, easing just the head of his cock inside feels like his mind is melting with how hot Ritsu is inside. Koga wants to go slow, tries to go slow, but his breath catches up in his chest and he shoves forward with one, slick slide, burying himself inside as deep as his cock will go.

Ritsu shoves his face into the pillow, wailing high and loud, muffling the sound as much as he can when Koga feels so _big_ , sliding into him like something life-changing, something incredible, dragging fire down Ritsu’s spine.His whole body contorts, and he goes shudderingly still under Koga, feeling like a little bug pinned to a science display board, just as stuck, just as impaled. “Feels--good,” he chokes out, burying his face as hard as possible, knowing Koga will still hear him. “H-harder--”

There’s no way, just no way, not when he feels so hot and sweet and _pliant_  around his cock. Koga’s breath heaves in his chest, and he buries his face into Ritsu’s hair, breathing in deep, or trying to, when all he can think about is how fucking good Ritsu feels, sounds, _smells._  “Hang on, then,” he pants out, grabbing for the headboard, then thinking the better of it, not wanting to make _more_  noise by banging it against the wall, and sinks his hands into the bed instead as he grinds in hard. 

The slap of their skin together makes Koga’s mouth fall open, and before he can make noises even louder than Ritsu’s, he bites, his teeth clamping down into the curve of Ritsu’s shoulder. _How_  he hasn’t already come inside is a fucking miracle—maybe it’s because Ritsu feels _too_  good, and he’s been pushed past that point, overstimulated and just needing to fuck him into the mattress.

“Come on,” Ritsu breathes, squeezing down on Koga with every breath, grinding back to make sure he’s really _full_ , so full he hurts, but damned if he isn’t enjoying it. He tries to get his knees under him, but there’s far too much happening around and _in_ him, far too much for him to be able to get all that he wants. All he can do is sag down and let Koga take care of him--which is what he wants anyway, since Koga seems to know how to fuck him just right, against all odds. “Just--you’re doing good,” he whimpers, not sure how else to convey what he really wants to say, toes curling, sweat dripping from his hairline.

Koga would never, _ever_  do a girl like this (not that he’s had that many chances to, but _still_ ), but Ritsu…well, Ritsu seems to really fucking _want_  this. 

Thoughtlessly, he rakes a hand up through the back of Ritsu’s hair, fisting his fingers in close to his scalp and yanking him back with that hold, even if he’d _needed_  Ritsu to shut up and have his face shoved into a pillow before. “T-tell me again that it’s good,” he pants out, grinding forward long and hard when he hears that little whimpered bit of praise. His cock throbs, and he slams in as Ritsu squeezes around him, which makes his eyes roll back into his head. “F-fuck, Ritchii—Ritsu, you’re so fucking perfect, I’m gonna—“

Ritsu’s voice fails, spiking into little squeaks, belly hot and tight when Koga yanks him around like this, the sudden praise making his face flush, heat crawling up from his neck and torso, making him whine. “You’re--fucking me real good,” he chokes out, tears falling from his eyes as he clenches at Koga’s arm, clutching at him with every rough thrust. 

“Koga--please, just like this--I’m gonna--”

His cock spills suddenly, dripping freely when Koga grinds into spots he didn’t know would feel good, making him gasp and shudder and slam back, groaning. 

There’s a lot that making Ritsu squeak and whine and come that hard does to his ego, especially when he didn’t even get around to touching his cock. 

It’s why Koga doesn’t think when he thrusts forward maybe twice, three times more before spilling, mouth open as he pants raggedly against Ritsu’s back, his fingers tense and trembling while they’re fisted in Ritsu’s hair, against the bed, his back a taut, trembling arch when he buries himself inside Ritsu’s ass. _Nothing_  could feel better than the way Ritsu squeezes and shudders around him, nothing could possibly smell as good as Ritsu does, sweaty and trembling underneath him, and Koga hears himself breathlessly whimper when he finally releases his hold on Ritsu’s hair, letting him slump down, and following not long after. 

“Fuck,” he rasps, his head thunking down against Ritsu’s shoulder.

“I was right.”

They’re not the first words Ritsu had expected to come out of his own mouth, but they come anyway as a dreamy smile curves his lips. “That was...better with you. Than anything I did by myself.”

“Shit,” Koga mutters wryly against Ritsu’s hair. “Thank _god_  I’m better than your hand.” 

Ritsu turns, nuzzling up into Koga’s cheek, eyes hooded and content. “You made me happy. That’s...pretty rare, you know.”

“’s my last good act on earth before I die.” Koga plants a kiss to Ritsu’s forehead before he carefully, gingerly pulls out, grimacing as he peels the condom off and ties it off with fumbling fingers to throw it into a nearby garbage can. “‘cuz I’m gonna die. It was nice knowing you, Ritchii.” 

I love that name. The words are too sweet for him, even the Ritsu that likes sweets so much, so he just curls up, motioning for Koga to spoon him. “We should try to do it a lot of times before my brother finds out.”

_“I’m thinking he’s probably gonna kill me when I show up to school tomorrow,” Koga points out, shifting to snuggle up behind Ritsu all the same, because fuck it, if he’s gonna die, it might as well be after doing a lot of awesome things. “But if he doesn’t…yeah.” He stifles a snort of laughter into the back of Ritsu’s neck. “You’re the first person to wanna do it again with me, though. Thanks.”_

Ritsu attaches himself to Koga’s arm, snuggling contentedly back against him. “Everyone else is dumb. You’re good at it. I...liked it a lot. And you took care of the stuff I didn’t know about, so that’s good.”

Ahh, shit. Sakuma Ritsu is way too cute, and that’s made more and more apparent every moment. “Thanks, Ritchii,” Koga murmurs, burying his face down into his hair, and tightening his arms around him to hold him closer. “I’ll keep taking care of you, then.”


	7. Chapter 7

Avoiding practice is something Kaoru is good at by now, but after that last Live, he takes it to a new art. At least none of his bandmates are in his class, which means his grades won’t suffer, _or_ in his club, so he starts spending more time there. 

He “cheats,” texting a cute girl he knows and meeting up with her after school, getting to a hand under the shirt before a teacher at her school warns them to move along under the threat of calling parents. She flees after that, but some of his anxiety dissipates afterwards, his heterosexuality secure again. Cool, it was just a weird after-effect of the Live. He loves performing, loves giving his all for the crowd, and obviously Rei does as well. 

To prove that nothing is wrong (and nothing _is_ wrong, they’d just gotten a little carried away), Kaoru strolls into practice three days after the Live, a casual and unconcerned smile on his face. “Yo, fellow musical champions! Ready for...” He looks around, and his face falls, not spotting Koga or Adonis, only Rei’s floppy hair peeking out of his coffin. “Oh, it’s only you.”

Rei, yawning and barely clawing his way out of the coffin, blinks over at Kaoru, and subsequently frowns. “ _Only_  me?” he sniffs, climbing to his feet. “Kaoru-kun, so cruel. It’s been a few days, I thought you’d be eager to seek out my company after our Live.” 

The opposite, actually, and that’s what had proven true. Rei knows he got carried away, but he doesn’t feel _too_  bad about it. So help him, kissing boys is enjoyable, and kissing Kaoru had left him with more than just _I almost confessed to my little brother, holy shit_  to think about when he had gotten home. There’s not much more base than getting home after a Live and jerking off to the idea of your fake boyfriend shoving you into a wall and— 

Anyway. 

_“Adonis-kun has a track meet up today,” Rei offers as an explanation for the empty room. “And the pupper…well, he’s been avoiding me, how delightful.”_

_Damn, Kaoru can’t think of a good excuse to turn around and walk out. Usually he’d do it with no concern...but lately..._

Kaoru sighs, hopping up onto a high bench, swinging his feet. A couple guitars of different shapes stand surrounded by racks and wires, a testament that the twins, at least, haven’t been skipping. Overachievers. “Heh, lame. Good reaction from that Live, huh?”

“Mm, exactly what I was hoping for.” Rei stretches with another yawn, and slowly makes his way to the piano to plop himself down, just because. “Apparently, our goods sales were through the earth. _Imagine_.”

“Yeah, I got a notice from the school burser. I guess we outsold the others by a long shot, huh? Maybe they should try making out, they’ll get a lot more credit.”

Rei’s lips purse at that. “You would think,” he drawls, eyes lidded as he turns towards the piano. “But alas, the pupper seems to be placing his affections…elsewhere.” 

Kaoru shrugs. “Not like it’s your business, is it?” he asks, going for casual. “You’re taken, right?”

“It’s my business when it’s Ritsu.” The response comes much too quickly, too snippily, and Rei takes a moment to pause and rein himself in. “Sorry. Taken or not, I’m still…concerned, about my little brother.” 

“Why is everyone in this school a homo?” Kaoru mutters under his breath. With the way Ritsu hangs around that cute new transfer student, he’d thought that at least _he_ was into girls. “At least Wan-chan is a good boy. Kinda unfaithful, but whatever.”

“Unfaithful? How?” So much for being reined in. “Did he behave himself while I was overseas? I haven’t been able to get a lot of details about the time while I was gone. The idea of Koga-kun and Ritsu makes me—ah, no, none of this is fair,” Rei admits with a little laugh. “The idea of Ritsu and _anyone_  doesn’t sit well with me. He wanted that transfer student before, too.” 

Kaoru rolls his eyes. “I meant he’s transferring his affections between Sakuma brothers pretty quickly, duh.”

“Oh.” Rei pauses. “So it _was_  like that. I thought he mostly liked me for my musical ability.” 

“You know, I’m not sure I want to be fake dating someone this stupid. How the heck did you figure out I liked you, again?”

“I wasn’t aware Kaoru-kun liked me at all. I assume you are only with me because I’m an excellent kisser, and I with you because I like seeing you shirtless on the beach.” 

Kaoru looks down at himself automatically, as if to catch sight of some previously-unknown muscle tone that he’s somehow missed developing on himself. “Uh huh. But I wouldn’t have gotten with you because of the kissing thing, I’d have to like you to let you kiss me. You probably played me a serenade or something. I’m a romantic like that, you know?”

“I wouldn’t play you a _serenade_. Any Debussy _Prelude_  would do instead, or a Chopin _Ballade,_ number 3 or 4 _…”_ That’s not particularly helpful to this conversation, is it. “Anyway. I still like seeing you shirtless. Kaoru-kun also has a lovely neck.” 

Kaoru’s hand comes up to his neck, as if to protect it from Rei’s gaze, or maybe just trace out what he finds attractive. “You think I’d climb into your lap for Chopin, huh? That’s what you think of me?”

“I had a professor in England that played Chopin beautifully enough that I wanted to climb in _his_  lap…so I don’t think it’s a stretch. You’ve never even heard me play it, so you can’t say you wouldn’t.” 

Kaoru raises an eyebrow. “Maybe I’ve just never heard good enough Chopin, then. Heh, is your professor there the real answer to who took your virginity? I knew Fukukaichou-kun was a lie...”

Rei laughs at that, turning his attention back to the piano. “Oh, no. Hasumi-kun absolutely took my virginity,” he hums, setting his fingers to the piano, and begins the slow, sweeping first bars of Chopin’s _Ballade No. 4_ , because everyone needs to hear some good Chopin in their lifetime. “I had a bit of fun in England, of course, but less than you’re thinking.” 

“You always have less fun than I’m thinking,” Kaoru says with a sigh. “You _are_ less fun than everyone thinks. Hey, that’s pretty, what’s that?”

“Chopin.”

“...Oh. Huh, I guess it is pretty. Not very sexy, though.” Kaoru flops back against the wall, eyes searching, hooded. “Tell me about Chopin. What was he like?”

“You wanted romance, not sex—that’s Liszt,” Rei says with a soft laugh, and he falls silent for a moment as he picks his way through the piece, the slow, fluid 6/8 falling effortlessly from his fingers. “He was a child prodigy. A sickly one, mind. He supported himself on writing music and teaching piano alone, and only gave about…30 performances, ever. He much preferred playing in the privacy of salons, and had a number of admirers…but his love life was notoriously as doomed as his health. A shame, that so many prodigies die young and unhappy.” 

There’s a wistful tone in that statement that makes Kaoru bite back a flippant response. It must be odd to feel genius like that, he thinks. He’s very used to the comfortable place he falls himself on the spectrum, ‘talented, but doesn’t apply himself.’ No one really expects much of him, much less that he’ll die young and unhappy. “Romantic poets are that way, too,” he volunteers, nerdy as it may be. “Like Keats. He wasn’t that good at getting anyone laid, though. That’s Donne, if your girl understands English.”

“Kaoru-kun is so smart,” Rei sighs happily. “How many girls do you date that can really appreciate that? It must be nice, finding the occasional one that you can chat in English with, like it’s a secret language…” He trails off, distracted by the phrase that builds underneath his fingertips. “What are you _doing_  at this school? You’re talented, but you don’t seem to enjoy any of the actual work involved…”  

“Ehh, Sakuma-san sounds like my teachers.” Kaoru twitches his feet, not quite swinging his legs back and forth, the expression on his face relaxed, neutral. “You think I’d be happier at a regular high school, with exams and speeches and college prep, where they make you wear your hair black and button your shirt all the way up?”

“Well, no…that’s not what I’m saying, let me rephrase.” Rei glances briefly over to Kaoru, then back to his piano. “You just don’t seem to enjoy practice at all. You don’t have a desire to learn any instruments, or to get any better than ‘good enough’ at most things…why not pursue modeling instead? Or something like it. UNDEAD requires a lot of effort on your part.” 

“Cuz I love being onstage,” Kaoru admits freely, reaching up to scratch at his hairline, where his microphone would be attached. “I like Yumenosaki because they reward results, not just looking as ‘industrious’ as possible and rewarding you for staying up all night studying. I always get results in the end, you know? You seem to get it, most of the time.”

“You do always get results. Ahh, I’m not telling you to change career paths or anything like that,” Rei hastens to add, pulling his hands away from the piano for a moment. “It’s more…I’ve been considering what to do after graduation myself, and what other people might end up doing, if they actually _enjoy_  this kind of torment on a daily basis as much as I do.” 

“Heh. I enjoy the onstage stuff a hell of a lot more than I enjoy the other stuff about this place, honestly.” Kaoru flutters his lashes, smirking. “This your roundabout way of asking me to go pro with you, Sakuma-san? Is this an omiai?”

“I don’t know, do you want it to be?” Rei says, laughing. “We certainly are marketable, aren’t we. Did you know we’re the subject of a whole fan column? They’ve started trying to analyze how long we’ve actually been _having_  this affair, down to how we’ve had matching hairstyles all this time…” 

“That’s nothing. You should see the doujinshi.” Kaoru reaches over and toys with a metronome, flipping the settings around idly. “Everyone thinks you top.”

Rei’s eyebrows raise, and his lips twitch into a vague smile. “Does that bother you? Ahh, I suppose it’s my fault for being so demanding on stage with you. You did make such cute sounds…” 

“I thought we _planned_ that I’d be the one to top,” Kaoru whines. “Now my masculinity is being questioned. They’re all calling me Kaoru-chan, gross, that sounds like a girl’s name.” Better to complain about this than the fact that Rei is saying he makes _cute sounds_ , my god.

“We both have girl names, it’s fine,” Rei says with a flutter of one hand. “When they call me ‘Rei-sama’, it makes it sound like I’m an old, perverted onee-chan type. You can still top—maybe I’m just a really pushy, demanding cat, hmm? You seemed to like that backstage.” Whoops. 

Kaoru’s cock gives a twitch in his pants. _Stop it_ , he thinks firmly, horrified. “Heh...we both got kinda wound up, right? Even though we’re both guys. It’s fine. Got over-excited. Doesn’t have to be weird. You’re--a great kisser, even if you’re a guy, but it doesn’t have to be weird.”

The fun thing about being a vampire is being able to smell the second that someone’s blood _changes_ —be it in the rate of their pulse, or in this case, the direction it decides to flow. Rei firmly tries to ignore that…and fails. Now he just _has_  to push that button a bit more. “You really don’t have to keep adding ‘even if you’re a guy’, you know. Here, let me show you how it sounds.” Rei leans forward, hands on his knees. “I went home after our Live and jerked off because I liked the way you shoved me around…even though you’re a guy.” 

Dammit, his cock does a lot more than _twitch_ at that. Only the fact that he’s been a lifeguard, and seen a heck of a lot of cute girls in swimsuits while he’s out in public, keeps his face from changing. “Yeah? You playing around or is that true? I’ve never had a guy jack off about me before...I mean, that I know about.”

Rei’s eyes dart down briefly, following the direction of Kaoru’s blood instinctively. It’s good to know he wasn’t the only one affected, heh. “Oh, no, it’s true. Kaoru-kun’s surprisingly strong, and I like that. Has to be all the surfing, mm?” His teeth scrape over his own lower lip. “Maybe Kaoru-kun should start being more forceful on stage, and our fans will start understanding his preferences.”

Kaoru’s breath catches, and his eyes sharpen, following the trajectory of Rei’s gaze. Ah. That sure doesn’t make his cock _softer_ , unfortunately. “You think you know so much about my preferences, huh?” _What am I doing? It sounds like I’m egging him on!_

“Am I wrong?” Rei’s eyes flick upward, enough to catch Kaoru’s gaze. “Kaoru-kun could always educate me. Or maybe he likes it when I’m the forceful one? Maybe I should have kept going backstage after all, scuffing up my knees on the floor after a performance sounds alluring…” 

Kaoru’s hand slips off the bench, and he bangs his elbow, wincing. “Shit. Ah--shit, that hurts.” He crosses his legs, his own eyes darting down--whoa, he’s not the only one into this conversation. “You didn’t forget this is fake, right?”

Rei idly runs his tongue across the back of his fangs. “Mm, no. But thinking about how you taste really does it for me. Your blood tastes good, your mouth tastes good, so it’s only natural that I’d be curious if you also tasted good if I—“ 

“Ha!” Kaoru laughs, suddenly loud in the quiet room, feeling himself sweat. He stands, wiping clammy hands on his pants, swallowing hard. “This is too much, man. I didn’t--I didn’t sign up for this, you said it was gonna be _fake_ , you said it was just to fool your mom and get publicity, stop looking at me like that!”

“Am I not allowed to practice for when we’re on stage?” Because that’s _totally_  what he was doing, especially when Rei is now having trouble _not_  tracing his eyes along the line of Kaoru’s dick. _Get it together, Sakuma Rei._  “You should come over for dinner tonight,” he decides suddenly. “Then we can get that out of the way.”

Kaoru sighs in sudden relief, shoulders less tense all of a sudden. “Yeah, that sounds good. Anything special I should wear to give the desired effect? Traditional, Japanese, Western, expensive, what?”

“Oh, my mother won’t care…ah, something with a low neck,” Rei settles upon, crooking a finger as he says it. “Come here so I can drink.” 

Oh. Right. 

Kaoru breathes in, remembering that Rei’s mother will _notice_ if he hasn’t, that she’ll be able to tell this isn’t real if he doesn’t do this. Slowly, he walks forward, unbuttoning a couple of buttons, then pulling his collar down. “Do I need to do anything special, or just...get eaten?”

Ah. Yes. Just like the first time, it’s incredibly alluring to have someone just… _offer_  themselves like that, and Rei feels his mouth go dry. This _might_  be some poor timing on his part, when he’s already half-hard and interested in things other than just drinking, but here he is, making poor choices as per usual. “No, no, nothing special,” he murmurs, lifting a hand to brush Kaoru’s hair out of the way with careful, gentle fingers. “It’s just a sip, no more than last time.” He can’t see the spot where he bit before, but he can smell it, and nipping at it, running his tongue over that soft skin again—so help him, that makes his dick harder, and he wants to beat his head into a wall. 

On a sudden stupid gay impulse, Kaoru grabs for Rei’s hand, holding his eye contact, and drags it down to the half-hard bulge in his trousers, intent. “If it makes me all hard again, take care of it. I deserve that, yeah?”

Rei leans back, his mouth a little slack, his tongue flicking out to wet his lower lip. “It’s going to make you hard again,” he slowly says, sucking in a slow breath through his nose when his fingers twitch on their own accord, curling around the line of Kaoru’s cock. Ah. Actually being able to touch it, _that’s_  even worse, and the heat that goes to his face makes him almost start panting. “There’s…no way around that.” 

The only thing, the _only_ thing that gives Kaoru some control back, is that Rei looks a hell of a lot more wrecked already than he is. That firms his spine, and lets him tease, “You’re really hot to touch it, huh?” He’s hot to have it touched, sure, but Rei is panting just from getting a hand between his legs, something that feels pretty good for his ego. That’s it--it isn’t that he’s falling victim to a predatory vampire. It’s just that he’s _so hot_ that his attractiveness transcends heterosexuality. That’s it. “You’re...really into me, huh? I bet you’d _love_ to get your mouth on it, right?”

To say that this isn’t doing it for him would be a _huge_  fucking lie. _When’s the last time you got laid, Sakuma Rei?_  his mind picks now, of all times, to remind him, and trying to pin a date to that is not doing anything to help how _desperate_  he suddenly feels. 

Rei lurches forward, yanks open Kaoru’s belt with startling deftness in a time that he should be fumbling and lost, and stares up at him, flushed and hungry. “Let me drink from your thigh.”

“If you do that,” Kaoru breathes, sitting back on a piano bench, reaching over to card his fingers through Rei’s hair, “you’re gonna have to take care of me with more than your hand. You don’t mind, right? Heh, I bet you--shit, did we lock the door?” The idea of someone walking in on them during _this_ makes him pale.

“Who cares?” Rei’s knees hit the floor, and his fingers hook into the waistband of Kaoru’s trousers, yanking them down in short order. The answer is definitely _no, why would we, we didn’t plan on this,_  but Kaoru’s hand in his hair, the heady scent of his blood, the line of his cock through his underwear—that makes his mind _more_  than turn off. 

Well, hell, at least Kaoru is pretty good at this part. He knows how to get a blowob, that’s for damn sure, and Rei looks as good on his knees as any girl he’s ever--

Wait, no, of course that’s not true, Kaoru prefers _women_ , there’s no way a man could look as good as a girl!

But Rei is sexy, with pale skin and red lips, with hungry red eyes and long dark hair, and Kaoru likes that a _lot_. He hooks a thumb into his underwear, tugging them down, letting his hard cock pop out with a sigh, urging Rei’s head down. “If someone does walk in...at least they’ll fix the rumors that you’re an S top,” he teases. “Come on, Sakuma-san, be nice to me. Have a drink.”

_I’m supposed to be down here to drink his blood_ , Rei tries, briefly, hopelessly, to remind himself, but that thought dissolves from his mind in a helpless second. 

Yeah, fuck it. 

It’s the least he can do after dragging Kaoru into this situation in the first place, right? At least that’s the thought process Rei lets himself have when he reaches for Kaoru’s cock, curling long fingers around the base of it to better draw it to his lips. That first, wet lave of his tongue over the head makes him shudder, the taste so starkly masculine when it drips over his tongue that it’s a damn good thing he’s already on his knees. His own cock aches between his legs, and he shifts, wetting his lips with another flick of his tongue before wrapping them around the head of Kaoru’s cock, sucking it down and letting his eyes flutter shut with a groan muffled into the back of his throat.

Kaoru groans, fingernails scraping over Rei’s scalp, delighting in the way that sinful tongue drags over him. Rei’s mouth is like nothing else, hot and wet and _incredible_ , sucking him in like he’s as hungry as a man sitting down to dinner. Which he is, Kaoru supposes dimly, and he murmurs, “If you make me come and then make me hard again by drinking, I’m gonna be real ma~ad...”

Rei pulls back with a wet, sticky pop, staring up at Kaoru with lidded, dark eyes. “As if I won’t suck you off again,” he breathes, tongue flicking out again to pointed swipe along the underside of Kaoru’s cock. “Kaoru-kun tastes as good as I thought he would.” 

Kaoru’s head rolls back, and he curses under his breath, both hands coming up to urge Rei’s head down. “Ahh, you’re being such a good girl,” he breathes, then winces. “Boy. Sorry. New.”

Rei snorts out a laugh, bites back a handful of comments that he _could_  make about that…and then decides having Kaoru’s dick in his mouth is a lot more fun.

It helps a lot that Kaoru has a really _nice_  dick, more or less the perfect size to make his jaw ache without it being an edge beyond too much. That’s why Rei can’t resist swallowing him down again after another lick to the precome beading at the tip of it, and this time, he sucks him down far enough that he has to swallow around the head of it when it bumps against the back of his throat and his nose buries itself into the (bleached blonde) hair at the base of it. His fingers splay against Kaoru’s thighs, squeezing when he feels the pulse of that artery underneath his thumb, and tries not to squirm incriminatingly whenever he licks and sucks at Kaoru’s cock, the taste alone enough to make him painfully hard in his own pants.

Abruptly, Kaoru is very glad that he’s good at getting blowjobs. Oh, some people might think that there’s no wrong way to _get_ a blowjob, but that’s not right at all, from everything he’s heard. Kaoru knows how to keep his hips still, knows how to pet Rei’s hair just right, knows just when to urge him down and just when to let him up, sucking in a breath to steady his nerves. He also doesn’t come as fast as most guys apparently do, giving him time to stroke that silky hair, time to _enjoy_ Rei’s mouth all over his cock. “You’re so hot like this,” he murmurs, eyes dilated at just the fact that he has Sakuma Rei on his knees for him. “So good--you swallow, or...?”

_How do I tell Kaoru-kun that he’s more fun to give blowjobs to than like…anyone else?_  Rei dimly thinks, drawing back with a long, languid lap of his tongue to catch the sticky drop of precome that tries to spill out of the corner of his mouth. “Mmn.” He tilts his head, mouthing wet, sucking kisses to the side of Kaoru’s cock. “Unless you wanna come somewhere else…fuck, Kaoru-kun,” he groans, shoving a hand between his own legs to squeeze the aching line of his own cock when he finally can’t resist. “You should’ve let me do this the other night.” 

Carefully, Kaoru pulls Rei off of his cock, looking down and studying his face, searching it, watching his flushed cheeks, his sticky, swollen lips. Then he looks down, and bites his lip. “Touch yourself. While you’re sucking me off. I wanna hear you feel good, baby, I want you to be so fucking into me when you’re swallowing.”

And who says that straight guys can’t do dirty talk, huh?

Rei’s chest heaves. Kaoru isn’t playing fair—this is some kind of revenge, isn’t it? Or…god, fuck it, even if it is, Rei isn’t entirely sure he cares.

Scratch that, he definitely doesn’t care. 

He’s never been _so_  grateful that he wears pajamas that are identical to the school uniform’s plaid before, because it’s easy to shove them down enough to pull his cock free, palming himself and dragging his thumb through the slick, dripping precome at the head of his cock. Getting his mouth back on Kaoru’s cock is a priority, sooner, rather than later, but touching himself makes a groan catch in Rei’s throat, makes his vision glaze and his mind not entirely focus, which is why the next nuzzle against Kaoru’s thigh makes his fangs bare and strike before he even thinks it through.

Kaoru yelps--it isn’t every day that some cutie is sucking his cock and suddenly takes a sharp left turn into biting his thigh. Only the face that the venom is a bit of a paralytic keeps him still, shuddering as his cock suddenly gets even _harder_ if possible, painfully swollen, dribbling salty liquid as he whimpers. “Ohhh my god...ahhh, Sakuma-san, you’ve gotta be--you’ve gotta--”

He tries to reach up and pull Rei’s head down, but his arms won’t _move_ , and he groans hard, panting, “I’m so--I’m so close--”

“Sorry,” Rei gasps as he pulls back, licking a wet, over-eager streak over the bite marks, slurping up the little droplets of blood that try to escape from his own mouth from that overly enthusiastic bite. It doesn’t matter that he only got a mouthful—it’s more than enough to sate him when he has more important tasks at hand, namely that Kaoru’s cock is so hard that it nearly looks painful. 

“Let me drink it all up,” Rei lowly urges, sucking that drip of precome off of the tip of Kaoru’s cock, scarcely remembering to nudge his fangs back up and out of the way before he gets his lips back around Kaoru, sucking him down, slurping hungrily. His own fingers squeeze tight enough around his own dick that his breath hiccups, making him inhale sharply through his nose before he swallows Kaoru down as much as he can, uncaring if he’s sloppy and hurried about it when he needs the taste of Kaoru on his tongue in more ways than one.

Kaoru yelps in a way he isn’t proud of when Rei seals his lips around the head of his cock, and loses his mind. 

He’s never come so hard, never spilled so much down someone’s throat as he does now, in hot, eager pulses that don’t seem to stop, wrecking him on the inside. He’s usually so _good_ about holding it together even when he comes, but this time he’s a goddamn mess, thrusting and groaning and shuddering, collapsing back as his hips rut up involuntarily over and over and _over_. “F-fuck,” he whispers, legs shaking as they splay apart. “Fuck, fuck, so--fuck, Sakuma-san...”

Rei lurches forward as Kaoru comes, long-fingered hands both grasping at his hips—not to hold him still, far from it, all to drag him forward as he swallows again and again, breathlessly choking down every single drop that he can until he can’t keep up and has to draw back, panting and shuddering. 

It’s not _much_  that he misses, just a streak of dripping white that escapes down his chin, and Rei’s tongue snakes out to lick it up. His lips are red and swollen, skin flushed and blotchy, and he turns his head to nose and nuzzle where he bit down, as if he’s contemplating another bite. “Kaoru-kuuun…” he breathes, slowly pawing a hand back down between his own legs. He bites into his own lip to keep from biting Kaoru again in that moment, and he huffs, his head thunking down to a rest against Kaoru’s thigh. “Kaoru-kun, it’s not fair…you taste so good…”

“F-finish it.” Kaoru grabs Rei’s hair, holding his eyes as much as he can, his own wanting to glaze and double in the throes of twin pleasures, from blowjobs and biting. Even so, he stares down, feeling like this is important, hands tangled in Rei’s silky hair, feeling so damn _eager_ to watch this. “I wanna watch. Come on your hand, come on, do it.”

“Fuck, I…” Rei gulps, rubbing a too-hot cheek against Kaoru’s thigh, as if that will somehow make his face hurt less from being _so_  flushed. It doesn’t, and pulling against the hand tangled up in his hair just makes his cock twitch in his trembling fingers. It’s not like he isn’t close, painfully so, with every squeeze and twist of his hand reminding him of the other night when he’d locked himself in his room and jerked off the _second_  he’d gotten home, to the thought of getting his mouth on Kaoru’s cock and this _exact thing_  happening, but… “Talk to me,” he pants out, his eyes fluttering, struggling to hold Kaoru’s gaze. “I…fuck me, it’s hot when you call me baby.” 

Kaoru’s motivation wavers for a second--Rei is still a dude, he doesn’t like guys--but the sloppy mouth on his cock does a lot to change his mind. His eyes bore down, and he grabs Rei’s head tight, murmuring low, hot words in his ear, wanting to be a _part_ of this more than he’d ever thought he would. “You like that, baby? You wanna be a good girl for--a good boy for me, you wanna do what you’re told, right? You sucked me off so good, show me how horny you are, come in your hand for me, show me how much you love having my cock in your mouth, come on--”

It barely takes another squeeze, another stroke, because with Kaoru’s voice in his ear, those fingers tight in his hair—fuck him, that’s more than enough. Rei never said he wasn’t _easy_. 

He gasps raggedly when he comes, the groan that wants to escape caught up in his throat. It might be his own hand stroking himself off, but it’s _still_  the first orgasm he’s had in…fuck, it’s been months, hasn’t it?…that has even remotely involved someone else, and the heat of Kaoru’s body, the scent of his blood and sweat, all of that makes every pulse and spasm linger, drawing it out until he’s sagging forward against the hand in his hair, sweat dripping from his jawline to the floor next to the mess that drips down from his hand.

“...Okay,” Kaoru admits, laughing at himself a little, stroking Rei’s hair gently, “that’s one thing guys have over girls. The fireworks at the end are way more interesting. That was so _hot_ , Sakuma-san.”

Rei exhales a long, shaky breath, slowly lifting his head to stare up at Kaoru through his bangs before he lunges up in one, fluid lurch to sling an arm around his neck and kiss him hard. Catching Kaoru by surprise makes it easy to shove his tongue into his mouth, to taste him there again, too, and Rei only pulls back when he can’t quite breathe, panting against his mouth and sagging back down again slowly. “We fucked up,” he says solemnly. “So much.” 

“We sure did,” Kaoru agrees, sounding very unbothered by it, stroking through Rei’s hair as it gets a little sweatier, tasting the sudden bitter salt on his own tongue. “We sure...sure did, man.” 

He moves, tugging Rei onto his lap, hooking his chin on Rei’s shoulder. “Yeah. We’re probably fucked.”

“Whoops,” Rei breezily manages, kicking his legs weakly as he nuzzles his face into Kaoru’s neck. Bet Kaoru didn’t expect some _great_  cuddles afterwards, either; that’s definitely against the rules of this arrangement, but he can’t help it, not when Kaoru smells so _good_  and he’s so sated. He exhales a long, content sigh, mouthing a kiss to Kaoru’s neck, then up to his ear. “You’re _fun._ ” 

Rei is a surprisingly good cuddler, and Kaoru loops his arms around Rei’s waist, cuddling him close. “You too,” he admits. “Heh, I didn’t expect this when you first came after me. You really wanted me all this time, didn’t you?”

“Honestly?” Rei hooks his chin over Kaoru’s shoulder. “I was just trying to find someone that I could fake this kind of thing with that was _tolerable_ …ah, I lucked out, Kaoru-kun is so good…” Maybe he’s laying it on too thickly, but he feels _good_  for the first time in a long while, flushed and happy and content to the point of floppy. 

Kaoru considers that for a moment, and nuzzles into Rei’s ear. “I’m not saying I wanna really date or anything,” he says carefully, “but...ah, I guess I’m pretty glad that this wasn’t some big plot to get into my pants. I don’t mind if it’s...a little more real-ish while we’re doing this. You know.”

“If I had wanted to get in your pants, I would have gotten on my knees from the start.” Rei shivers when Kaoru nuzzles against his ear, and his teeth snap compulsively against the curve of his shoulder. “Dating sounds hard. Friends with benefits sounds _very_  easy. I mostly just like making out.” 

“Nn. Good. Sounds real good, Sakuma-san.” Kaoru smiles, and winks a little, turning on a bit of his famous charm. “Get ready, I’m gonna really make your knees knock now that I’m trying.”

Slowly, Rei lifts his hands to place them on either side of Kaoru’s face. “If you are too cute, I will eat you alive in public,” he bluntly says. “I can’t stop myself. I suck.” 

“Then it’ll be authentic, right? All the fans’ll eat it right up.”

“… _Now_  you’ve got the right mentality,” Rei sighs. “And all it took was blowing you.” 

“Heh, are you sure you’re a guy, Sakuma-san? That’s usually all it takes for us.” Kaoru’s smile is warm, his voice light and teasing, and he brushes a kiss to one of Rei’s cheekbones. 

“Considering how many times you tried to tell me I was a ‘good girl’, I’m starting to wonder about what kind of image I have,” Rei teases right back, poking Kaoru’s cheek. “I told you, I’ve never really _tried_  to date someone, even if it’s pretend.” 

“Ehhh, don’t hold that against me, I’ve only ever had blowjobs from girls!”

“Mm, I dunno…Maybe Kaoru-kun will fall for me for real if I put on a skirt and let him hike it up…”

“Don’t push your luck.” They both are, of course. Kaoru can’t think of anything that would be more pushing his luck than what they’re doing. Maybe he should call it walking on a tightrope instead. With fire on both sides.

“Don’t worry. You’ll want to run away from me screaming after you meet my mother, so all of this will be moot.” 


	8. Chapter 8

“So, assume that ‘dinner’ for you means ‘brunch’ for my mother. She also has a sweet tooth that’s even worse than Ritsu’s, but at least they’re both good cooks, so you’re in for a treat…” 

Trying to explain his mother to anyone is a hassle, but it’s the least Rei can do when he’s dragging Kaoru into this situation. His house actually has a couple of dim lights on this time of day, filtering out through the curtained windows upstairs, which means that his mother is absolutely awake now that the clock has struck eighteen o’clock. 

Rei trudges up to his doorstep, enters in the keycode for their door, and it unlocks with a quiet _click_. “Here we are,” he sighs, opening the door for Kaoru to let him in first. “Don’t worry, no matter what she says, she won’t eat you.” 

If the outside of his house is an ivy-covered spectacle, standing out as one of the older, more historic fixtures in the neighborhood, the inside is like a gothic museum of sorts with antique furniture, flickering candles and an enormous grand piano tucked away to the side. A spiraling staircase stands off the side to what is probably the kitchen, and until Rei flips on a single overhead light, everything else is entirely dark. It’s still dim, but even a human should be able to see enough this way.

Kaoru blinks owlishly in the darkness, trying to look around and see something that doesn’t make him want to laugh. If he didn’t know better, he’d think this was an elaborate stunt--it’s _too_ on-point, _too_ cartoonishly vampiric, and he keeps looking up to see whether someone’s going to jump out and yell, “Surprise!” 

Instead, he’s deep in a house that looks like it came from a couple hundred years ago, dimly lit at best, fumbling for Rei’s hand so he doesn’t miss a step. “Kinda...old-fashioned is an understatement, right? You seriously grew up here?”

“My mother has a fondness for remembering her days in Europe—she likes to call them her ‘classical days’, whatever that means,” Rei grumbles with a roll of his eyes, giving Kaoru’s hand a squeeze as he tugs him further into the house. “She’s not even a European-style vampire, you’d think she wouldn’t want to be so cliche, but here we are…” 

“Rei-chan, _darling_.”

“Here we go,” Rei mutters tiredly, and right on cue, his mother waltzes down the staircase, yawning, draped in what _barely_  can be called a silky, slinky black nightgown, considering how much of her cleavage is on display behind the long waves of her black hair. 

“Ooh. _This_  is your pet? I have to admit, after you told me about him, I expected something more in line with that one from your middle school—“

“ _Mom_ , he’s in my _band._ ”

“The other one was, too.” Sakuma Airi’s eyes glint bright and ruby-red behind her bangs as her gaze fixates upon Kaoru, and when she licks her pouting, red lips, there’s definitely a hint of fangs. “At least you seem to have better taste now.”

From the way Rei is darting him glances, Kaoru has a feeling that everyone he’s brought home before has been intimidated by his mother at least, if not downright terrified. 

Those people, he’s fairly certain, are _idiots_.

Kaoru sweeps a low, formal, old-fashioned European bow, glad that he’d opted for a tuxedo coat. It makes sweeping this kind of bow a lot more emphatic, and he reaches for Sakuma Airi’s cool, elegant hand, brushing his lips over the back of her fingers. “My lady, thank you for your hospitality. I had no idea my evening would be graced with such a first-class beauty of the highest caliber. Please allow me a moment to collect my scattered thoughts in the wake of your appearance.

Rei stares, slack-jawed, as his mother not only behaves herself by not biting Kaoru outright, but giggles like a schoolgirl, blushing and pleased. “Oh, what a delight you are,” she sighs, covering her mouth with long, manicured fingers. “My son’s taste has _greatly_  improved. Mmn, and you smell delicious…”

“Mom.”

_“Well, he does! Even for a B type. With such a lovely neck—“ Airi leans forward, and Rei grimaces as her cleavage nearly becomes a full act of nudity. “If my son isn’t taking care of you, this old woman has more than enough experience to show you around.”_

_“I can’t think of anything more delightful, my lady...” Kaoru murmurs, greatly enjoying himself. A nice-smelling supermodel promising to bite him isn’t exactly the kind of danger he’d been expecting, but it’s certainly the kind he’d prefer over just about anything else. He leans up, then winks. “Or perhaps,” he adds in English, “I should greet my lady they do in the Old Country?”_

With that, he leans forward, brushing a kiss to her cheek, then the other. He can feel Rei shifting, but Rei put him in this situation, so how can he blame Kaoru for taking advantage of it?

“God,” Rei groans, “don’t encourage her.”

“You be quiet,” Airi snaps, starry-eyed and _infinitely_  pleased. “My failure of a son doesn’t understand the catch he has here, _obviously_ ,” she says, seamlessly switching to English herself as she grabs Kaoru by the hand and drags him towards the kitchen. “I _must_  cook for you, you delightful boy—ahh, he didn’t tell me you spoke other languages—“

Rei isn’t sure if this is a good outcome or a bad one, truth be told. At least his mother isn’t trying to eat Kaoru outright and certainly seems to believe that they’re _together_ , but the night is young yet. He trails after them with a sigh, lingering in the kitchen’s doorframe. “That’s because you never wanted to know anything about him—“

“Wrong! Ahh, where’s my _good_  son,” Airi laments, already reaching for the wine. “Ritsu! Ritsu, come down, love, we have company! Kaoru-kun, was it?” she purrs, selecting a delicate, antique glass. “Let Airi-sama spoil you tonight.”

Kaoru’s eyes light up, and he follows obediently, trailing at her lovely back (which has plenty to gaze at, though a real gentleman wouldn’t look anywhere near the interesting parts). “I should never think to be so rude as to deny my lady anything she wishes to have, much less the joy of spoiling me.”

“Mom...ugh, I thought company was gonna be people, not one guy and a bug...”

Ritsu stands in the stairway, eyes narrowed, but awake and alive. He stretches, then slowly descends the stairs, not meeting Rei’s eyes. “Hey, Hakaze-kun.”

“Do you like red wine, Kaoru-kun? Sit, sit, my collection is all from my last trip to Italy…” Airi busies herself with pouring him a glass before she has a real answer. “Ritsu, my pride and joy, find me one of your world-famous recipes, would you? I have to feed this adorable thing something delicious.” 

Rei fidgets, his arms folded as he desperately attempts not to move and try to drag Kaoru away…and now, as he tries not to pounce on Ritsu and start begging for him to at least _look_  at him.

Ritsu perks up at that, humming to himself as he moves into the kitchen. “I’ve got a good one, but it’s got a lot of black magic. Hakaze-kun should move his cell phone away, sometimes that much magic can mess up electronics. If only there were someone here that knew where the candles were...”

“Be useful,” Airi snaps, giving Rei’s shoulder a swat as she brushes by him again. “Or at least go play the piano, that’s a _start_. Kaoru-kun, if you don’t like that wine, maybe you should try it out of my mouth, ahaha.” 

Having company that is his own boyfr—no, his _fake_  boyfriend, Rei darkly reminds himself, should make him exempt from being bullied by his mother and brother. He says nothing, and glumly drifts away to yank open a cabinet drawer, fishing out the candles in question. “Ritsu,” he tentatively tries, fishing for a book of matches. “I heard that you’ve been going to class a lot more lately, that’s good.”

Ritsu looks up, and just a tiny bit of the usual bored tenseness in his expression fades, just a bit. Grudgingly, he admits, “I thought you were gonna beat up your dog. Thanks for not doing that, I guess.”

“What? Oh, no, no, I mean—“ Rei sets a few of the candles out, and strikes a match to light them, illuminating the kitchen in dim, flickering light. “I’m…not saying I didn’t think about it,” he admits with a soft laugh. “But it isn’t as if he’s hurting you, and I’ve been thinking about what you said at our Live. I…I guess it’s none of my business, is it.” 

Ritsu pulls out a jar of newt’s eyes from the fridge, opening it and holding it out to Rei. “Smell this and tell me if it’s fresh.”

Rei leans over to sniff it tentatively. “Yes? But test it before you put it in anything, you don’t want it to have the chunks, you know the ones I mean.” He spares a glance over his shoulder, making sure their mother isn’t eating Kaoru—but instead, she’s just chatting him up at the dinner table with something about Italy and beaches and surfing. _Fine, whatever_. “Ritsu, you’re not mad at me, are you?” he blurts out. “I know I’ve been terrible, but I am really trying.”

Ritsu’s eyes are shadowed and hollow, and he dumps a few tablespoons of eyes into a pot, muttering an incantation before pulling out a salt shaker full of powdered bat hair. “If you don’t know what you did, I’m not gonna tell you.”

“I know what I did.” Rei’s fingers fumble with another match, and he nearly burns himself as he tries to light a particularly stubborn candle. “You just haven’t let me explain why I did it. That’s not fair.” 

“If you wanted to explain, you should’ve done it before you left.” Ritsu avoids eye contact, shaking unmarked jars with careful precision. “You always said if you left you’d take me.”

“This was different. I knew I was going to come back, I just had to leave for a little bit.” Rei hesitates, tossing the book of matches back into their drawer, and folds his arms. “You would have hated me more if I had stayed, or if I had taken you with me.” 

Ritsu’s eyes flare suddenly bright, and he grabs the candle, rasping a harsh word, then thrusting it back into Rei’s hands as the wick explodes into flame. “You left me. Alone. In the dark. And you’re _surprised_ I hate you.”

“I’m not _surprised_ —I just—Ritsu, please don’t hate me,” Rei begs against his better judgement, shoving the candle away before it can flare up and catch his hair on fire. “Ritsu, I love you. I—if I had stayed, I would have hurt you because I know you don’t feel the same way as I do and that’s _fine_ , but if…if you could just _try_  to not hate me…” 

Ritsu’s eyes go suddenly hooded again, and he grabs another jug, measuring a few teaspoons of something wriggling, dumping that directly into the pan. “Fine. Explain. You’re a liar, you say you love me but you leave me?”

“I haven’t lied about anything.” Rei takes a step back to avoid the sudden weird, blue steam that flutters up from the pan, and folds his arms again, his painted nails digging into his arms. “Ritsu…when I say I love you, I mean it, you know?” 

Ritsu slams the lid down on the pan, glaring at the smoke. “You can say it plenty. Easier than proving it.”

“No, that’s—that’s not what I mean.” Rei spares a wary glance over his shoulder again—good, they’re both being _solidly_  ignored. Even still, his voice drops to a hushed whisper. “Ritsu, I agreed to go to England _because_  I love you—I…if I hadn’t gone, you would have just thought I was a gross pervert, that I was a total creep…” 

“I already think that,” Ritsu says flatly. He grabs a wooden spoon, scraping at the pan. “If you don’t wanna make me think that, don’t keep hugging and kissing me from behind at school all the time. Everyone knows you’re a brocon.”

The laugh that follows is a wet, tired one. “Yeah. Yeah, they do.” And because he’s beyond knowing how to explain, beyond making it easy for anyone to understand when he doesn’t even get it himself, Rei gives up and adds, “Everyone thinking that is the only way I can get my hands on you.” 

“It’s the vampire thing all over again. Duh.” Ritsu glares at Rei sidelong. “You pretend like it’s all a joke so no one takes you seriously. But I _know_ you’re a vampire. And I know it’s not a joke. You think I’m stupid.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid. I think…” Rei trails off, glancing down. “I think…maybe it would be better if you were, sometimes.”

“Probably not for me.” Ritsu checks on the food, and mutters another incantation, adding a sprinkle of very ordinary salt. It sets the flavor better than anything else, really. “Aren’t you going to do your big confession, Aniija? Apologize, tell me why you did it, everything you’ve always wanted to say? You’ve been practicing, right?”

“…But it all sounds stupid, and contrived, and you’ll just laugh at me, or hate me more.” His chest hurts. The idea that he can be normal, have a _normal_  boyfriend (even if it’s a total, fake lie) is a joke when he still feels like this. Rei swallows, drumming his fingers against his arms. “I’ve already told you why I left, but you’re not hearing me. I love you, Ritsu. I love you more than anything, I’m _in_ lo—“

“How’s that dessert of yours coming, Ritsu, love?” their mother calls, on her third glass of whine and not even tipsy. “It smells _wonderful._ ”

“Good. There’s a bug buzzing around and annoying me, though,” he calls back, pulling a few plates out of the cupboard in anticipation. Quieter, he says, “I hate you for leaving. I hate you more for changing and not being the brother I love so much anymore.”

“I’m _tired_ , Ritsu,” comes Rei’s weary, wet retort. “Is it so terrible of me to act differently so that people expect way less? I thought—I thought you, out of everyone, would see through it and know—“

“Rei-chan, stop bothering your brother while he’s cooking!” 

Rei exhales a sharp, frustrated breath, and says nothing else before whirling away, stalking off to the piano because that, apparently, is the only thing he’s good for.

Five minutes later, Ritsu appears with the dessert, a disgusting mess that smells incredible. He rubs his sleeve across his eyes, mumbles something unintelligible, and sprints off to his room, slamming the door shut.

Kaoru ignores that and beams, holding out a spoon to Airi. “First bite, my lady? Then, shall we adjourn to the--I assume someone with as much class as your lovely self has somewhere we can dance?”

“Oh, that would be in poor taste of me, I can’t steal you all night,” Airi titters, even as she leans forward to cheerfully take a bite, and then sigh happily. “Ahh, Ritsu has a gift, you know? A real one, everyone wants to marry a talented chef, it’s only a matter of time before I have to give him away.” The sound of Liszt’s _Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12_ filters in across the house, and she yawns behind her hand, long, razor-sharp fangs flashing in the low light. “That worthless son of mine better be treating you right. He’s hopeless, I know, but you’re a good boy for putting up with him.”

Kaoru finds himself actually blushing at that, which he finds intolerably embarrassing. “He...ah, well.” He fumbles for his cute, pretty, gentlemanly words, all the while remembering their story about how they started to date. “There are so few people of any real culture at our school, you know? And even fewer who can speak in other languages. You’ve raised two enchanting children. I’d expect no less from such a lady.”

Airi’s eyes zero in on him, even as she picks up her spoon, scooping up another bite of dessert. “No one would want to date my son for culture,” she bluntly says. “He didn’t appreciate his year overseas at all and he seems _embarrassed_  about it, of all things. Be a good boy and tell me what you really think.” 

Kaoru laughs, and takes a bite, strategically not looking at it before he swallows. “Truthfully? I like his smile,” he says, half-surprising himself with the truth. Whoo, that’s a little embarrassing--he remembers Rei’s smile so clearly onstage, or sitting in his lap, the _real_ smile, not the one he puts on when he’s being stupid. “And, ah, I’ve always had a thing for musicians. Talented hands, you know? Sorry to be so crude.”

The stare she fixates on him is still analytical, clearly looking for cracks in proverbial armor before she washes down Ritsu’s dessert with another slow sip of wine. “How sure are you that you aren’t just addicted to the way he bites you?” Airi murmurs, plopping her chin down into one hand. “That happens, you know. Once upon a time, I had a _harem_  of lovely men—and women, of course—that would rather _die_  than never be bitten again…” 

“Men and women with exquisite taste. Forgive me if I contemplate them for a moment,” Kaoru says with complete honesty, laughing a little at himself. Airi with a woman...oh, yes, that’s something he can imagine, her lying like a gorgeous spider in the middle of an orgy--

Yes, focusing is _great_. 

“But in answer to your question, we were a couple before he took his first drink.”

“How…old-fashioned of him.” Airi’s lips purse, amused. “When I had their father—I just _had him_ , you see, and that was the end of it.” 

Liszt changes to Chopin, and Airi heaves a sigh, leaning back in her chair. “Overplayed and boring, Rei-chan! If you took that to an audition, you wouldn’t make it past the first cut!”

There’s a pause—Rei doesn’t reply—but the begrudging change to Godard speaks volumes. “There we go,” she sighs, leaning forward again, her ample bosom resting on the table. “I’ve been in Richard Wagner’s _bed_ , you’d think he would take my advice about music once in awhile, but I had to force him to go overseas to a real conservatory. I’m sure you have more drive than that, Kaoru-kun, that must be why he likes you…or you’re delicious, take your pick.”

“I’ll never say I’m not delicious,” Kaoru says, winking again--he knows his own appeal. “Mmh, but I do like the Chopin. I admit, I wasn’t a fan before, but Rei...has a way of making him more appealing,” he says, almost to himself with a little smile. 

“Ugh, you’re both hopeless together, then,” Airi complains, stuffing another mouthful of dessert into her mouth. “Thank goodness you’re adorable or I’d have to banish you from my house just for that alone. When can I expect children, hmm?” 

A flash of panic goes through Kaoru at that question--but no, no, it’s fine, he hasn’t gotten anyone pregnant this time, that’s impossible...probably. “Eh, unless there’s some stuff I really don’t know about vampire biology, you’ll have to wait for us to get some stability and adopt.”

Airi giggles at that. “Oh, he’s really been keeping you in the dark, hasn’t he,” she sighs. “ _Anything_  is possible with a little black magic.”

“Oh, really?” It’s impossible to tell if she’s joking or not, and either way, it’s easier to just play along. Kaoru leans in to tap her shoulder, then leans back to call, “Is that so, Rei-chan? Are you planning on making me a father without telling me?” God, but he wouldn’t put it past this family.

Rei’s piano playing doesn’t cease, though his sigh from the other room is exasperated. “What is my mother telling you, Kaoru-kun? Don’t be ridiculous, you know we always use protection.” 

“Make him carry it,” Airi advises, finishing the last of her wine. “It’s all he’s good for. If he had been born a girl—ahh, that would have been so much easier for everyone.”

Kaoru is about to mention that yeah, it would be a _hell_ of a lot easier, until he remembers what Rei had told him about his mother wanting a girl so she could marry her children together. Ah. Likely not easier, then. (Though a relief--if Rei could seriously get pregnant with his child, then it wouldn’t matter if she had a daughter, right? Yeah, that sounds right.)

“You’re forgetting how beautiful he is,” Kaoru points out, “and how well he plays music. I’d be a fool to give up any of that--as well as a connection to such a charming dynasty.”

“But if he had been a girl, he would have been even _more_  beautiful,” Airi whines, pouring herself another glass in short order. “As it is, my bloodline is going to get even more diluted, because he’s apparently _gay_  and can’t _stand_  the sight of my naked body—“

“Mom, can you not?”

“Shh, child, I don’t want to hear it.” Airi flutters a dismissive hand. “And now you and Ritsu are having this _feud_ , honestly, I can’t deal with any of it.” She grabs her glass of wine and her dessert plate and pushes away from the table. “It was delightful to meet you, Kaoru-kun, but _I_  have to go upstairs and finish my meal. If Rei-chan refuses to take care of you properly, follow my scent, you’ll be able to find me.” 

With that, she drifts back off upstairs, with the sound of her bedroom door opening only _briefly_  accompanied by muffled screaming. Rei sighs, slumping forward against the piano with a clang of dissonant keys following. 

Kaoru carefully makes his way to the piano, and sits next to Rei on the bench. “So. Most people run away after they meet your mom--can’t _imagine_ why. Oh, were they blind?”

“You are the first person to ever say that. Then again, you’re also the first person—friend or potential boyfriend, whatever—that I’ve brought home that Japan’s Demon Queen has actually _liked_.” Rei bangs his head against the piano again. “Maybe she liked you too much, but at least she didn’t try to eat you…” 

Kaoru’s hand comes up to rest on Rei’s shoulder as he laughs, as gently as he can. “Families are weird, right? Heh, you’d probably shrivel up and die if you met my folks...they’re way less fun. At least she’s dramatic and interesting, you know? Hey, what was that with Ritsu? Didn’t sound like your usual fights.”

“Your parents sound normal and wonderful.” Rei swallows, shrugging underneath Kaoru’s hand. “Ritsu hates me. That’s nothing new.” 

“He, uh...looked like he was crying, at the table,” Kaoru says, fiddling with the ends of Rei’s hair. “Usually I’ve just seen him looking sleepy.”

“He always cries when I try to talk to him.” Rei pulls the key cover down over the piano keys, then flops down against it, burying his face into his arms. “Kaoru-kun, how did you get so good at talking to people?” 

The question takes Kaoru a little bit aback, and he stops to consider it for a moment. “Hmm....good at talking to people...sorry, but I’ve kinda always been like that?” he says with a shrug. “Guess I used to use it to get what I wanted out of my parents and older siblings. But if no one ever listened to you, no surprise you didn’t get good at it.”

“He doesn’t listen to me because he doesn’t want to hear what I have to say, anyway. And I can’t blame him,” Rei says with a wet laugh, sniffling as he lifts his head, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I’m gross. I’m so gross, Kaoru-kun. Just…you’ve already done everything you needed to, you don’t have to stick around. Sorry for putting you through this.” 

“Come on, what kind of f--what kind of boyfriend would I be if I took off now?” Kaoru’s voice is light and teasing, but there’s empathy underneath, and his hand is warm. “Your family’s pretty special, huh? I can’t turn you over to them just yet.”

Kaoru isn’t playing fair. 

Friends with benefits doesn’t entail this kind of care, does it? Even if they were just _friends_ —Rei certainly doesn’t unload his woes onto Wataru or Shu or Kanata, not to this degree. Those conversations are reserved for performances and conquering, not the issues he has with his family, especially his little brother. 

“Kaoru-kun’s too nice,” Rei says with a ragged little huff, slowly rocking to the side to let his head thump against Kaoru’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Kaoru strokes over Rei’s hair, fingers carding through the wild dark locks. “You told me your family was crazy, and they are. I mean, yeah, you dragged me into this, but this is basically exactly what I expected, to be honest.”

“I’m sorry for making you think you were dragged into this,” Rei says, shutting his eyes as he leans into Kaoru’s side, just letting him pet his hair for the moment. “I wasn’t ever going to out you,” he admits with a tired laugh. “Kanata-kun would have eaten me for ruining he has with Chiaki, and…you’re too nice, I couldn’t. There’s nothing tying you to me, you can go and be done with it.” 

“Ah...about that...” Kaoru winces, hand not pausing. “There’s...something I was gonna tell you later...but I can tell you now, I guess. See, the thing is...”

He reaches into his tuxedo jacket, and pulls out a hand-lettered invitation in elegant calligraphy, bearing Rei’s name in both romanji and kanji. “So, someone told my folks about you. I dunno if it was Tenshouin or what, but they didn’t even give me a chance to explain, just said you were coming for dinner tomorrow.”

Rei stares at the invitation, then at Kaoru. “I’m definitely not bring home to your parents kind of material,” he hastens to point out. “I mean, parents like me—well, Wataru’s parents like me—but I—do they…know…” 

Kaoru drops his voice, face going stern into an impression of his father. “You hid a relationship from your family. You should have hidden it better if you didn’t want to bring this person home. Your unit chief? I should have met this person who tells you what to do a long time ago. You will bring him here and I will decide if he is worthy your loyalty.”

“That’s scary. I don’t want to do this, I’m not good with old men in positions of authority.”

Kaoru glares. “You get over that right now, I flirted with your mom for _hours_ because you blackmailed me. The least you can do is make my dad think you’re worth trust.”

“My mom is easy level compared to this. Your parents actually _expect_  quality, my mom just wanted to see you were a real, breathing thing!” 

“But you don’t have to fake anything! He mostly wants to meet you as my boss, or whatever.” Kaoru’s eyes narrow. “I’ll tell Kanata-kun that you were blackmailing me with Chiaki’s happiness.”

“You can’t turn that back around on me!” Rei whines, tugging on Kaoru’s arm. “Kaoru-kun, you can’t do this after I tried to release you from this hell, that’s not how this works.” 

Kaoru slaps at Rei’s hand then grabs it, squeezing intently, though not nearly as hard as he could. “Hey, I helped you with your dumb family thing, so help me, okay? It’s seriously only fair! I’ll--I’ll help you with Ritsu!”

Rei blinks at him, frowning before he glances aside. “Help me? Kaoru-kun—there’s nothing to help there, he’s…he hates me, no matter what I do.” It’s better to just feel defeated about the entire situation at this point, even if it makes tears reflexively sting his eyes and his chest ache more than it ever has before. “I…I’ll help you, it’s fine. Do your parents like piano? Violin? I’ll play for them and be impressive.” That’s about all he knows how to do to impress parents, _honestly._

Kaoru snorts, though his shoulders relax immediately. “They like all the classical stuff, but they don’t know anything about it. They just think it makes them look fancy. Seriously, what’s going on with Ritsu? He used to be in my class, I know how much he adored you.”

“I’ll make them feel fancy _and_  smart.” He’s good at that with music, if nothing else. Rei hesitates, gnawing on his lower lip. “Ritsu’s angry because I went overseas and left him here alone. I understand why, but…at the same time, if he would listen to me for three seconds about the _why_  behind it…” 

“The why?” Kaoru stretches out his legs, feeling around with his feet for the pedals, though he’s still not entirely sure what they do. “Your mom said something about that, too, that you wanted to go but you hated every second of it. I’d kill to go to England for a year.”

“Then come with me when I inevitably move there to escape my own feelings again,” Rei laughs, the sound jittery and not entirely stable-sounding as he flips open the keyboard cover again, needing to do something if he’s going to actually be boxed into talking about this. 

“Escape your own feelings? What could be so bad that you went a few thousand miles, huh? I mean, I get being annoyed with everyone back here, but...”

Rei says nothing for a moment, and starts in on the opening bars of a Debussy reverie. “I’m in love with him.” 

With who? Kaoru almost asks, before it sinks in.

In all honesty, he shouldn’t be so surprised. Rei had joked about his mother making him and Ritsu marry if one of them were male, and it’s fairly obvious he hadn’t been joking about his own mother wanting to have sex with him, but...

_But that’s different. He can’t control his mother being terrible. Everyone has a weird family, everyone hates the weird shit their family does._

But this is _Rei_ , this is someone he’s laughed with and joked with and thinks is cool...and this is way, way beyond a little joke about being a brocon. 

This is, frankly, gross.

The idea of his own older brother looking at him like that makes his gorge rise, and he swallows it down with a nervous inhale. “Huh,” he says, floundering for the right words, when everything in his mind is related to how to get out of the situation. “That...must be rough.”

“I know how fucked up it is.” Rei stares straight into the piano keys, refusing to look up when he can already feel Kaoru’s disgust. Good, now you get it. In a way, it’s a relief for someone to know that’s human and normal—it’s justification that the way he feels should make him feel terrible and guilty and disgusting. “That’s why I left. Ah, you can tap out,” he quietly adds. “It’s not like I want to talk about it, either.” 

Kaoru wants to. Fuck, he wants to, he wants to run and leave this weird old house and UNDEAD and finish out the year in some boring unit that never asks much of him, like Knights. 

Ugh, their music is bad, though.

“What kinda friend would I be then?” he asks softly, with a ghost of a smile. “I mean...I’m not gonna pretend like it makes sense to me or anything, but I’m not gonna bail, either.”

Rei laughs at that, the sound tired and worn, and he wipes a hand across the back of his eyes again before the waterworks can really get started. “Ah…sorry, sorry, I’m a big crybaby,” he says, sniffling. “I don’t even know what I’m crying about. It doesn’t make sense to me, either, you know. I’ve…I’ve always just been like this, I was born messed up.” 

He heaves a long sigh, trailing off mid-phrase on the piano, and drops his hands to his knees instead. “But I can’t _do_  that to him. That’s why I moved to England, but he can’t understand that. No matter how many times I try to confess to him, that doesn’t work, either, so he can’t even understand how fucked up and gross I really am.” He sniffs again, shrugging. “That’s the fourth reason behind why I wanted to fake my way through dating you. UNDEAD, my mother, a free meal or two…and Ritsu. I thought, maybe…maybe if I could prove to myself that I could _fake_  a real, normal relationship…all this gross stuff would go away.” 

“And...it’s not, is it? Ah, you don’t have to answer that, I can tell the answer. But...is it working at all?” Not that Kaoru would keep faking a relationship with Rei just for that, but it would be nice to think that this whole charade has _some_ positive outcomes.

“…When I’m around you…I don’t…just sit there and think about him all the time,” Rei admits with a watery sniff, wiping his nose again. “Ahh, I didn’t want to say that, I don’t want you to t-think you have to stick around just because it keeps me from being a pervert. I just mean…you’re a good friend, and a fun lay, so that…that does help.”

“Know what?” Kaoru asks, knocking his knee against Rei’s thigh. “I’d rather be a good friend and a fun lay than your moon and stars, you know? Ah, that’s why I’m cutting down on dating girls, I’m sick of being the most romantic thing ever. I...I really like hanging out with you, even with all this crap going on.”

“But I want you to…” Rei trails off, glancing down, and exhaling a long, shaky sigh. That’s not even fair. What he wants right now is biased and stupid because he’s _desperate_ , and that’s not fair at all. “Let’s…talk about something else,” he says instead, wiping his hands down his face. “Tell me about your family. They sound so normal. Do you want to see my room? Ah, I guess you don’t care about music that much, so my collections wouldn’t be that exciting to you.”

Kaoru looks around the dim room, then asks, “You wanna get out of here? Maybe get some milkshakes, something a hell of a lot more normal? I feel like we’ll both need that.” Black magic dessert....something...might be tasty, but it’s also weird and doesn’t fill him up much.

Rei sags slowly from the _normalcy_  of that question, and the relief that it brings. “Can we? Please? I’ll do anything, you can even take me to the beach and force me into the ocean.”

Kaoru takes that as complete permission, and drags Rei to his feet by his wrist, yanking him towards the door. “I’ve got burger plans. You ever been to most of the little burger and shake places around here?”

“Not even a little bit. Is Kaoru-kun taking me out on a burger and shake date dressed up so smartly?” Rei teases, letting himself be dragged. “If you want to change, you can wear something of mine, we’re about the same size.” 

“Yeah, sure, but wouldn’t it be fun if we _did_ go out for burgers and shakes in these clothes?” Kaoru laughs, and makes it out the door, lacing his fingers with Rei’s. They’re cold and not particularly soft, more calloused and bony, but still strong when laced with his own. “After that, we should go to the beach like this, at midnight, with all the stars out. Good, huh?”

“Your family isn’t going to think you’re a total delinquent for being out so late?” Rei tugs the door shut behind himself, clinging a little to Kaoru’s hand. “On that same note…if you wanted…we could take my bike.” 

“Sure, I’ll stand behind the pedals. Aw, this is shaping up to be a very cute date, huh? It’s not a street bike, is it? Those don’t have the good place to stand...”

“Ahh…no, it’s…” Rei releases Kaoru’s hand to go over to the garage door, and heave it up with a little bit of effort. “When I say ‘bike’, I mean in the…what’s the _real_  English word, motorcycle?” 

Kaoru’s face lights up, and he actually _squeals_ at the sight of the motorcycle. “Oh, man. Oh, man, now I wanna be wearing leather, can we _seriously_ ride that beauty?”

“I,” Rei says proudly, “have an international driver’s license.” Because that was totally worth the energy to get overseas, _and_  to get when he came back home and had to get the separate one for motorcycles in particular _. Totally._  “Sure you don’t want to change now?” he hums, tossing Kaoru a helmet.

“It’s okay, we look like some wacky couple on a joyride or a honeymoon or something. Or like we’re shooting a music video, ooh! We should definitely do that at some point, when we...when UNDEAD really takes off again.” Kaoru puts the helmet on, carefully tightening it, unsure if he’s doing it correctly but not wanting to look uncool.

Rei reaches over, casually tucking Kaoru’s hair out of the way as he fiddles with the helmet for him. “It’s already taking off, we just have to keep at it,” he simply says, fishing out a hair tie from his pocket to tie his own hair back with before tightening his own helmet into place. He pulls the keys off of the garage wall, and swings a leg over the bike, patting to the spot on the leather seat behind him. “So are milkshakes near the beach, or back into the city, or what?” 

“If you think I don’t know all the best places on the beach, you don’t know me that well,” Kaoru says cheerfully, swinging a leg over the seat and casually slinging his arms around Rei’s waist. “Ooh, just as intimate and sexy as I ever thought it would be. I’ve _got_ to get me one of those.”

“Why do that when you can just ride on mine?” Rei hums, nudging up the kickstand and cranking the motorcycle to life. It turns on with a purring roar, and he would be a liar to say he didn’t _like_  how Kaoru is snuggled up behind him, holding on tight. “There are little bars where you can rest your feet,” he calls over the sound of the motor. “Magic Beach, or Jounanji?” 

“Jounanji is too close to my house. Hey...you got anywhere to be early in the morning?” Kaoru leans in, hooking his chin over Rei’s shoulder. “We could go down to Yokohama. No traffic this late--we can go to Issiki when it’s actually not crowded, if you want.”

“Only place I have to be is bed, so…Issiki it is.” Rei hesitates a moment, seconds from twisting his head around to steal a compulsive kiss, but—that’s weird, right? Fuck, he doesn’t even know anymore. He’ll save it for the beach. “No criticizing my driving,” he warns in advance, and revs the bike’s engine once to warm it up before bolting out of the driveway. “And make sure to hold on, Kaoru-kun~!” 

The ride is exhilarating, the cool of the wind contrasted with the warmth of Rei in front of him. Kaoru’s hands clutch tightly at first, but eventually he changes, holding onto Rei’s waist with one hand, letting the other splay out over one thigh. It’s kinda cool, feeling the motions of the bike that way. There’s something more soothing than sexual about the ride, something cleansing about the night air whipping all around them. All the weirdness of the last couple weeks doesn’t seem to matter like this, washed out by the wind. 

The wind also makes it difficult to talk, so Kaoru doesn’t bother, just breathing with the rumble of the road, fingers pressed against warm skin. The ride is about an hour by car, and Kaoru finds himself wishing that Rei would drive slower, just to make the ride last.

By the time they reach Issiki, it’s more or less a ghost town. Rei prefers this to the hustle and bustle of _any_  beach during the day, where the sun reflects off of the sun and water and the noise of people makes his ears ring and his head hurt. As a bonus, just about every single parking place is open at night next to the shoreline, and Rei slows to pull neatly into one of the spots, breathing out a long, refreshed sigh after being whipped around by the wind for an hour. Now, it’s nothing but fresh sea air, the crash of waves, and _silence_ —except for Kaoru, who has never been a noisy, obnoxious person, anyway.

“Not a bad ride, hmm?” He unbuckles his helmet, hanging it on one of the handlebars of his bike, and stretches his arms out over his head. “I tried to take Kei—ah, Hasumi-kun, on it once, a few weeks ago. You’re a _much_  better passenger.”

“Just a few weeks ago?” Kaoru hangs his helmet on the other handlebar, running his fingers aggressively through his hair to plump it up. He wipes his sweaty hands on his pants, and takes Rei’s arm, leading him down to the sand, kicking off his shoes and socks. “I thought the two of you were in the past. Are you fake-cheating on me?”

“We still hang out,” Rei huffs, pausing to kick off his own shoes and socks as well. “He likes to complain about Tenshouin and I think that’s funny. Hehh, is Kaoru-kun getting possessive of me?” he _has_  to tease. “I know, I know, I’m such a hot commodity.” 

“Can you blame me?” God, Rei is so easy to tease, easy to talk to, almost deceptively so. “I finally get the prize that everyone’s been after for years. Heh, if all your stories about Fukukaichou-kun are true, he won the pool a while ago, but never claimed the prize...”

“Who’s this ‘everyone’ you’re talking about?” Rei complains, raking a hand back through his hair to floof it back up a bit. The brisk ocean breeze is starting to help with that, fortunately, but ahhh…helmets. “All my stories are true, I swear. Hasumi-kun’s the only one that’s ever even been remotely interested, and even then, it wasn’t to _date_  me.” 

“Oh, it was a whole class thing, the last couple of years--when you were a year ahead, you know? Our first year.” Kaoru beams brilliantly, reaching over to play with his hair. “We all had a bet going about who could bag you first. Oh, god, that’s embarrassing to remember now.”

“Wha…” Rei stares at him, his head tilting. “Ohhh. You mean when I was in full ass-kicking mode and cut my hair off and—wait. _You_  were in on that bet? Kaoru-kun, you’ve been leading me on about your heterosexuality.” 

“I wasn’t _in_ on it,” Kaoru qualifies hastily. “But I was there when they made it. Only a couple of them actually said they’d _try_ , of course. I said I wasn’t gonna, because, you know, you’re a guy.”

Rei pauses, flipping this over in his mind for a moment, and finally settles upon, morosely, “Is _that_  why Tenshouin was so weird about me for a solid month?” 

“Yyyyep, he was one of the most confident ones. Man, I totally forgot about all this. We all chipped in a thousand yen, I think--yeah, Fukukaichou-kun said he’d hold it for everyone. I wonder if he still has it? There were more of us back then, of course, the ones that switched to the non-idol courses when their units flunked out...it’s got to be over a mon, at least.”

“Grooosss,” Rei moans, thunking his head against Kaoru’s shoulder. “Why are guys all _like_  that? That explains _so much_  of my second year, why I was harassed and followed around all the time…all of you really stressed me out, you know.” 

Kaoru holds up his hands, laughing. “Hey, I wasn’t a part of it. Oh, man, speaking of the guys back then, remember Kazuya? Who was _so_ sure he was gonna knock Valkyrie off the top spot, and he kept whining to his daddy for more money, bigger props and stuff?”

“You mean the fifteenth kid that quit after three months?” Rei sneaks a hand around to give Kaoru’s ass a pinch. “Not like the _other_  rich boys I know that dress like slackers at school and want to go to the beach in the middle of the night.” 

“Or the rich boys _I_ know, that live in creepy old mansions and say they’re broke when they have their own _motorcycle_ ,” Kaoru says with a squeal, reaching over to try and return the favor, missing because Rei’s got such a small ass, dammit.

“It was a birthday present!” Rei protests, sidestepping out of Kaoru’s range just to make _sure_  he doesn’t get that pinch in. “I don’t even have an allowance, I’m _seriously_  broke. And I turn all of the money UNDEAD makes right back into the next performances, so I’m the literal definition of a starving artist—emphasis _starving_.” 

“You’re not starving,” Kaoru accuses. “You drank from me literally today.”

“I barely had a sip.” Rei huffs at him, and latches back onto his arm to nuzzle up into his neck. “Do you really think vampires can survive on a juice box a day?” 

“How should I know? You never tell me anything, you definitely usually don’t drink from anyone this much.” Kaoru wraps an arm around Rei’s waist, pulling him tightly close. “So, how much do you need to survive?”

Rei blinks at him languidly, as if he’s surprised by the question. To be fair, it isn’t as if a human has ever honestly _asked_  him before. “…Right now, I’m not drinking from anyone else,” he carefully corrects. “Everything else I drink is what our mother brings in—prepared to be grossed out? From blood banks, usually. Bagged, old blood is disgusting. She’s the one that gets to go hunting; not us.” Kaoru’s arm feels _very_  nice against him, warm and solid and comfortable, and Rei leans into him, content. “A mature vampire has to completely drain at least a human or two a week to be comfortable. Ritsu and I are young, so it’s not the same, but we’re still always hungry.” 

Kaoru pales a little, and his arm loosens a bit. “So...you’re saying...that when you’re older...you’re going to kill people? Like, murder?”

“…I mean, humans hunt and kill animals, it’s not so different. If it makes you feel better,” Rei hastily attempts, latching onto Kaoru so that he won’t run screaming. “I don’t have much of a…a drive, for that kind of thing? I’ve always thought hunting should be reserved for humans that are _honestly_  terrible and deserve to be killed. My mother likes yakuza, for example.” 

“No, no, no.” Kaoru frowns at Rei, tapping his nose like he would a particularly disobedient cat. “No murders at all, okay? I know you can’t control your mom, but you _can_ control yourself. People are people, you know? And you should pay back for the blood you steal from the hospitals--volunteer at a blood drive or something.”

“Kaoru-kun,” Rei exhales, tilting his head back, “have you ever been so hungry that you thought you were going to die? Or even just thought you were going to pass out?” 

Kaoru thinks about it, then nods. “Yeah. When I was on vacation with my family once, me and my brother got lost in the woods for a day.”

“Vampires feel like that all the time.” Rei’s head tilts, his eyes lidded and bright underneath the fall of his hair. “Even my mom, who feeds regularly with fresh blood. It’s nice to say ‘no murders’, but…you saw how Ritsu was last year, while I was gone.” He’s only heard about it, only sees the lingering aftermath, but that’s enough. “That’s what happens when we don’t feed. If we volunteered at a blood drive, we’d out ourselves instantly because it smells like a buffet. Maybe my mom could tolerate it, because she’s so old, but I know I’d go insane.” 

Kaoru is tense, unhappy, walking in silence for a few minutes. He looks out at the water, at the slowly shifting sands, and just...keeps his mouth shut. What can he say, that isn’t confrontational, judgmental, or worse? _This isn’t what I signed up for_ is what he wants to say, but what had he signed up for? Just to fake date someone for a month. Not to make any lifelong commitments, not to make decisions about how Rei should behave, even if it is super terrifying and murdery. Best just to keep silent, so he doesn’t make things worse.

Rei hesitates, trying to think of something to add, and fails. He worries at his lower lip and gently tugs at Kaoru’s hand. “If Kaoru-kun keeps letting me drink from him, it’s not like I’m going to chase after anyone else at the same time,” he finally attempts. “And the only humans I’d ever want to kill are murderers and rapists, anyway, but I don’t want to touch them, so that makes killing them pretty much impossible. I’m bad at being a vampire, my mom tells me that every day.”

Kaoru gives him a pained smile, a little nervous, still tense. “I just...I mean, it’s one thing after another, you know? It’s...man, I didn’t expect to hear about killing. My family’s not that sort of rich people, you know? It freaks me out.”

“I’ve never even seen a dead body,” Rei hastens to reassure him. “It’s not like I _hear_  about it all that much, I just know it _happens_. I—Kaoru-kun, I _promise_  I’m not going to let you get involved in anything like that, okay? You just asked about vampire things, so I was honest…” 

“No, no, I’m glad you told me, just...” Kaoru drags a hand down his face, starting to ease slightly. “Super unexpected. I’m not gonna pretend I’m not freaked out. But hey,” he adds, suddenly amused, “at least it makes the incest thing seem way less bad.”

Rei deflates visibly. “I suck. Figuratively. Literally, too, but figuratively is the important thing here. _Some_  vampires are humans turned into vampires and they’re _so_  much more normal and aren’t this hungry all the time and probably don’t want to make out their siblings. That sounds nice.” 

“Of all the stuff wrong with you, you sure do keep coming back to that, huh?” Kaoru reaches up, playing with Rei’s hair the way he usually does, his heart’s rhythm going back to normal. “It must be fucking tough. I hate crushing on someone that doesn’t want me back.”

“It’s different than a crush. Forget it, I hate talking about it.” Rei’s head thunks back down against Kaoru’s shoulder. When did he start liking the way Kaoru plays with his hair so much? How unfortunate that it calms him down so quickly, that doesn’t have _any_  staying power. “Is it a friends-with-benefits thing to make out on beaches under the stars, or is that too weird?” 

Kaoru snorts. “If that’s not a benefit, I dunno what is. You should be a real gentleman and toss your coat down for us, don’t you think?”

“Mm, definitely.” Rei shrugs his coat off immediately, tossing it down into the sand without a care, and plops down onto it afterwards, making grabby hands at Kaoru. “Gimme.” 

Kaoru kneels slightly more gracefully, settling behind Rei and tugging him close. There’s still an easy intimacy between the two of them that he’d have thought would have disappeared with all the talk about murder and incest, but apparently his conscience doesn’t care _that_ much. After all, _Rei_ hasn’t done anything, so why should he judge? He nuzzles under one ear, and nibbles delicately at the lobe. “What you want, baby?”

Rei is fairly certain this goes beyond friends with benefits—but what does he know? Did Keito count along those lines? If he did, then this is _definitely_  above and beyond in the ‘benefits’ category. 

He’s not going to complain. 

Being able to relax back into Kaoru’s arms to the sound of the ocean is surprisingly… _so_  good. Rei shivers, snuggling back, and tilts his head back against Kaoru’s shoulder to make it easier to press a kiss to the side of his neck. Knowing he _could_  bite and get away with it calms the urge to do so compulsively, at least, even if Kaoru smells as good as always. “Dunno,” he sighs. “But I like when you call me that.”

“Good, because I...” Kaoru laughs softly at himself, resting his chin on Rei’s shoulder, strangely content with this whole damn thing. “I was gonna say I can’t stop myself, but I think I can, you know? I just...I don’t know. Kind of like it. And if you don’t mind it...”

“Mm, I don’t mind it. I like it.” Rei’s eyes lid and he tips his head to the side, resting it against Kaoru’s. “The only other ‘nicknames’ I’ve ever had…’bug’ doesn’t count, I guess, and ‘Rei-chan’ coming from my mother is…ugh. I guess the closest thing has been ‘Sakuma-san’ from you, which I’ve always thought was kind of cute. I’m only a day older, heh.” 

“Yeah, man, that’s the point of the nickname. Which I’m still gonna call you in public, by the way.” This is honestly a lot more romantic than most of the real dates Kaoru has ever been on, and he lets his eyes drift closed--not sleepy, just drinking in the night and the company and the salt spray. “The other one is just for...when we’re alone. Really alone. And I wanna spoil you because you’re acting so cute.”

Rei blames his entire family’s tendency to blush easily on the fact that his face starts heating up. “Kaoru-kun thinks I’m cute?” he laughs off, shutting his eyes entirely as he buries his face into Kaoru’s hair. “That’s a new one.” 

“Only new that I’m telling you about it. You being cute is kind of normal.”

“If you keep saying that, I’m going to get a complex. I’ve already got five, don’t give me another one.” 

“Five?” Kaoru counts on his fingers. “Brother complex, that one’s easy. Oedipus complex, probably. Help me out.”

“I definitely don’t have an Oedipus complex, gross,” Rei complains, snapping at Kaoru’s neck in retaliation. “Brocon is all you get. If I tell you about everything that’s wrong with me, you won’t think I’m cute anymore.”

“Yeep! He-hey, you’ve already told me you’re in love with your little brother, your mom wants to marry people, and you’re definitely going to murder people someday--how much worse can I find out?” Kaoru laughs, pinching Rei’s ass. 

Rei bats his eyelashes, smacking at Kaoru’s hand half-heartedly. “I actually prefer topping.” 

That sends a warm little thrill through Kaoru’s lower extremities, which he thinks is seriously unfair...but in the end, all he does is grin. “You think that’s worse than being a murderer? Yikes.”

“To someone that apparently can’t _stand_  his masculinity being threatened in front of his fangirls…” Rei decides he just won’t tell Kaoru about being able to smell how his blood changes course, not yet. “Also, no one ever asks, they always assume.”

Kaoru shrugs, and trails his hand down, twining it with Rei’s again. He’s pretty good to hold hands with, doesn’t squeeze too hard or let his hand go limp, and Kaoru likes that a lot. Girls can be weird about holding hands. “They assume you top, though. It’s that whole...I don’t know, bdsm personality of yours onstage.”

Rei snorts, amused, and curls his fingers against Kaoru’s. “To be clear—I don’t care that much. It would just be nice to be _asked_  what I prefer, even once. Heh, at least Kaoru-kun didn’t start wearing a collar on stage to deliberately try and get my persona’s attention.” 

“Be nice, I’m pretty sure it’s a reference to that wolfish personality of his--he’s got his own persona to worry about, you know. I know he’s fun to tease, but you can be a _little_ nicer, after all.” 

“I know, I know, I’m trying,” Rei sighs, butting his face against Kaoru’s neck again. “You know when you can just _hear_  yourself being a jackass and still can’t stop? I’m working through that in about three directions with poor Koga-kun right now and the fact that my little brother is now climbing him like a tree isn’t helping. Why do you _smell_  so good all the time?” he mutters, nuzzling up behind Kaoru’s ear.

“It’s my wholesome lifestyle,” Kaoru says lightly, reaching out to drag his toes through the sand. “Clean living, and a lot of sunlight. You wouldn’t understand, Vampire-san.”

“I live on tomato juice and Kaoru-kun. That sounds pretty clean living to me, minus the sunlight part.” Rei twists in his arms, now distracted enough to start nibbling on Kaoru’s earlobe. “Maybe I should bite you on stage at some point…” 

A shiver goes through Kaoru at that, and he smiles, teeth glinting in the starlight and moonlight. “Save that for if we’re ever losing. The fans will lose their minds.”

“As if I’m ever going to let us lose ever again…so Kaoru-kun better prepare himself.” The thud of Kaoru’s pulse makes Rei unfocus, just a bit, and his tongue flicks out, an absent taste of Kaoru’s skin acting as a fun little primer. “Mmn, maybe I’ll just take a sip if I get tired…that’ll perk me right back up.” 

“No fair--what do I do if I get tired, huh? Seems like a double standard to me,” Kaoru complains, but there’s a breathy hitch in his voice, betraying his eagerness.

“I’ll kiss you back to life.” Rei smiles up at him, hooking a finger into the collar of Kaoru’s shirt. “Or I’ll write you a song where you can sit on the edge of the stage and blow kisses to the girls instead. Kaoru-kun has such a pretty voice, after all…” He flips around entirely in Kaoru’s arms now, too interested in having his mouth on Kaoru’s neck to care about behaving. Does this count as public indecency? If so, good, it’s not the first time he’s been snapped at by a cop. 

Kaoru pulls back just slightly, raising his eyebrows. “Uh-uh, Sakuma-san. I see that look in your eyes. I don’t wanna get arrested for having my dick out on the beach, what if I get banned? That’s a whole beach full of girls that won’t be able to look at me!”

“…Kaoru-kun is such a goody two shoes sometimes,” Rei observes with a tilt of his head, though that doesn’t stop him from kissing the side of Kaoru’s neck again, tugging his collar down a bit more to suck on a bit of skin that would be easily hidden later. “There’s no one _here_.” 

Kaoru squeaks, bringing up a hand to push away Rei’s mouth. “Stop, I know what one bite does to me, you know! Nnh, we’re out in the open, at least take me to a fancy love hotel...”

Rei’s eyes glitter, and he licks at Kaoru’s palm. “Lewd, Kaoru-kun. I just wanted to make out, but if you’re so eager to let me bite again…”

“Who would trust a vampire with his mouth open?” Kaoru retorts, tugging on Rei’s hair. “That’s like trusting a hungry hyena with an antelope.”

“I always ask first!” Rei whines, butting his head against Kaoru’s hand. “I know how to behave with someone I like, consent is important!”

Kaoru beams. “That’s right! Ah, that’s what I’m always saying, no one seems to listen, I’d never do that stuff if they didn’t want me to!”

“This is why you’re such a good boy.” Rei takes that momentary loss of focus, however, to pounce again, planting his hands on Kaoru’s shoulders to push him down as he prowls up between his legs. “Kaoru-kun is too good for a bad kid like me, even, but maybe that’s why I think he’s so cute.”

It’s just making out, right? Yeah, that’s right. Kaoru lets himself be pushed back, even letting his thighs part to get Rei between them. It feels incredible to be pressed body to body with someone so attractive, even if it is a guy, and Kaoru nuzzles at Rei’s ear. “You’re...a pretty bad kid, you’re right. Maybe you should teach me.”

Rei briefly lifts his head, just to make _sure_  there’s still no one around before he starts in on Kaoru with gusto. Once upon a time, Rei might not have minded arguing with policemen over where he was supposed to be, but Kaoru doesn’t need to deal with that, and seems like the kind of good kid that would cry a little about it, besides. _Too cute!_

“I can teach you how to be the _worst_.” Rei rakes a hand back through Kaoru’s hair, running his nails over his scalp as he plants a kiss to the corner of his mouth, then gently nips at his lower lip. Taking his time and not being thrown into compulsively making out with Kaoru is a different sort of fun entirely, and Rei shifts between his legs, hoping the way his dick starts to get hard isn’t _too_  off-putting.  

Kaoru’s nails are far blunter than Rei’s, but they rasp over the fine fabric of his shirt, tracing up and down his back. His lips part, and he sucks gently on the tip of Rei’s tongue, sliding his own into Rei’s mouth, taking his time to taste and tease. His hands trace over the taut lean muscles of Rei’s back, lingering at the small, splayed out to feel as much of it as possible. The sounds of the waves breaking on the shore is soothing, and it’s late, and he’s more than content to let Rei kiss him slow and easy in one of his favorite places of all time.

Actually, has he _ever_  been able to take his time and enjoy kissing someone? Spin the bottle with the other Oddballs doesn’t count. 

Rei exhales a long, rumbling purr against Kaoru’s mouth, the slick little tease of his tongue making him hungrier for more even if he tries to reel himself in. Nibbling and sucking on the swell of Kaoru’s lower lip makes him shiver, and swiping his tongue over it afterwards makes it easy to get his tongue further into Kaoru’s mouth. He runs the tip of his tongue against the roof of Kaoru’s mouth, pointed and teasing, and one hand snakes down to gently squeeze and rub against one of Kaoru’s thighs, something he may or may not think about often.

Kaoru sighs out a breath against Rei’s mouth. For some reason, he’d thought that Rei would have been overly-quick about this, immediately grabbing for his dick through his pants. Of course, he can be forgiven for thinking that--Rei had before, after all. This is more fun even than getting Rei on his knees for him, and not just because it lasts a heck of a lot longer. 

It would be easy to slide his hands down to Rei’s ass and escalate things, but for the moment, Kaoru slides them up, feeling corded muscle surrounding Rei’s shoulderblades, dragging nails over his spine with a satisfied sigh against his lips, nibbling a little with blunt teeth.

The nails dragging against his spine makes Rei arch, a long shiver dragging down his back and making his toes curl into the sand. Kaoru has nice hands, which isn’t something he says about _most_  people—he’s picky, and maybe spends too much time thinking about that sort of thing. 

Between long, slender fingers curling against his back and soft lips against his own, Rei has a hard time _not_  wanting just a little more…which mostly means dragging those kisses down Kaoru’s neck, sucking gently on the column of his throat. “‘m not leaving hickeys,” he murmurs in advance. “Just…gotta taste your skin a little.”

“See, you’re a pretty good kid when you wanna be,” Kaoru says with a little laugh, and brings his own hand up, thumbing open a couple of buttons at the top of his shirt. “You can taste more, if you want. I won’t stop you.”

Rei doesn’t hesitate with an offer like that, and slithers down a bit more, grateful that he doesn’t have to let his erection dig into Kaoru’s hip any longer. He pops one more button free, just to make it easier to kiss and suck his way down from Kaoru’s neck to his collarbones…straight to one of his nipples, where his tongue flicks and his teeth gently nip. 

Kaoru sucks in a breath fast, one foot involuntarily kicking out when Rei’s tongue is on his nipple, dragging little urgent noises out of him faster than he’d imagined possible. “A-ahh, super unfair, Sakuma-san...”

“If Kaoru-kun wanted to be _super_  edgy,” Rei murmurs thoughtfully, pausing to suck on that nipple again and bring it to a hard, aching point. “Mmn. He could always get his nipples pierced.” His eyes flick up, amused. “Then again, you don’t even have your ears pierced…”

“Ehh, my dad would kill me,” Kaoru says, leaning up on his elbows to better watch the progression of Rei’s lips. “You think you need help to tease me? I’m pretty sure you’re doing a good job without piercings...”

“I just think you’d look good with them, that’s all.” Rei’s attention switches to the other nipple, his teeth lightly scraping over it. It takes _effort_  to keep his fangs in check, but regular teeth seem to be doing the trick for now, especially when he sucks and gently _pulls_  on that nipple as he draws back. 

A whine comes from Kaoru’s lips, and he laughs at himself, even as his toes curl, grains of sand rasping between them. “M-maybe it would be fun anyway,” he says with a shaky little laugh, hands moving up to curl in Rei’s shirt. “Ahh, be nice to me, baby...you’re gonna take care of me, right?”

“However you want.” _Apparently,_ being called that makes Rei melt now, which is a side effect that he can’t decide between being unfortunate or fantastic. “Want my mouth again, Kaoru-kun?” Rei breathes, his teeth nipping at that same nipple once more as he snakes a hand to Kaoru’s belt. “Or I can show you how good my hands are at being…heh. _Discreet._ ” 

“Get up here,” Kaoru murmurs, grabbing Rei’s beltloops and tugging him up to lie flush together, sliding his hands into Rei’s back pockets. He shifts, getting his feet flat against the sand, and rolls up his hips, sneaking another kiss. “Grind with me, we can be gross teenagers and dry hump until we come in our pants.”

Why that in particular does it for him, Rei isn’t _entirely_  sure. Maybe it’s the simple fact that _Kaoru-kun actually wants to be a gross teenager with me_ , or maybe it’s just the way that Kaoru grabs at his ass and arches up and Rei can _feel_  how hard he is… 

_Even if I’m a guy?_  is on the tip of his tongue, but Rei bites it back as he catches Kaoru’s mouth in a deeper kiss, sucking on his tongue as he grinds down, his knees planted into the sand that just seems to make it everywhere even if he threw his coat down. His own cock twitches in his pants, thrilled at the sudden friction, and Rei thinks, belatedly, to shove a hand into one of the nearby pockets of his coat. “Nn, Kaoru-kun,” he breathes, licking at his lips as he pulls back from kissing to speak. “You ever listen to our music when you get off?” _Because I do~_  is the unspoken addition, and with his iPod already in hand, it’s not likely Rei’s going to let him get away with not trying it.

Kaoru sucks in a breath, eyes wide and delighted at the suggestion, and he shakes his head. “Haven’t tried that yet. Usually just...I dunno, I got a playlist. Ahh, I always...when I listen to our stuff, I always get distracted by thinking my voice could sound better, you know? Gimme, I wanna give it a shot.” He cants his hips up, hissing when hard length grinds against hard length, dragging sparks of friction out of him, sending them dancing up his spine.

“Don’t worry about it, I think you sound sexy.” Rei hands one of the earbuds over, stuffing the other into his own ear before flipping swiftly to the playlist of their setlist, and immediately fastens his mouth to Kaoru’s neck—at the base of it, at least, because now he can’t _resist_  leaving a hickey that’s going to be barely hidden by the collar of his shirt. His fingers splay around Kaoru’s hips, slipping lower to grab up handfuls of his ass as he grinds down, finding it easy to fall into the rhythm of a bass line that he knows intimately well. 

Immediately, Kaoru starts picking up his own vocal mistakes--but Rei’s hands are urgent and talented, and Kaoru groans when Rei’s mouth sucks hard at his neck. There’s a dim idea to protest the sudden treatment, but he bites that down, more and more wanting it to continue. He ruts up, grinding against Rei’s cock, grabbing hard at Rei’s ass, hauling him down with newly rhythmic rolls of his hips. His lips trace the words, as familiar to him as a lullaby, driving him to move faster, harder, fingers sinking in deep to soft flesh. “Feels _good_ , baby, feels so good--”

Kaoru’s voice in his ear and on his iPod at the same time make Rei’s eyes glaze, and he picks another spot on Kaoru’s shoulder to suck on next, muffling a groan as he nips at the skin. His cock aches, throbbing every single time Kaoru arches to meet him, and he can feel the damp spot that’s already forming there. “Fuck, you made me so hard,” he pants out, slipping thoughtlessly back into old speech patterns when he grabs harder at Kaoru, long fingers dragging along the cleft of his ass to further tease and pet. “K…Kaoru-kun, next time,” Rei rasps, a soft, muffled grunt escaping against Kaoru’s neck as his hips twitch forward harder, his cock twitching helplessly at the idea, “Next time…you should let me finger you, I’ll make you feel so fucking good…” 

Kaoru bites back a shout as he comes, wet warmth blooming between his legs as he rubs up against Rei’s hip, rocking over and over, dragging out the last waves of perfect bliss for all he’s worth. His head rolls back, thunking against the sand as his body goes limp, arms slipping down to the beach after. “Shit, that’s good with the music,” he sighs, eyes slitted as he looks up at Rei. “Come on, baby, get off on me.”

Rei is pretty sure he grips too hard, but Kaoru has the _best_  ass. Grabbing handfuls of it to hold onto when he rolls his hips down, rubbing hard against Kaoru, against the wet, stickiness already between them, is more than enough to get off to when Kaoru’s still whispering in his ear, all throaty and sated. 

He feels his fangs slide out when he comes, and Rei draws back from Kaoru’s neck instinctively before he can bite, panting into the salty air as he spills with a ragged jerk of his hips. All of that friction turns to warm, wet slickness, and he shivers, running his tongue over his own fangs, sated and flushed as he lets his head thunk back down next to Kaoru’s. “Nnn…Kaoru-kun, you smell so good…”

Kaoru somehow manages to move a little, just enough to pet Rei’s head. “Now, we’re both bad kids, eh?”

“Mnn. I’m the worst influence.” 

A low, dull ringing comes from the pocket of his coat, and Rei groans out a protest, even as he shoves his hand into it. Mostly, he comes out with a handful of sand, but also, a very crumpled paper cup with a string attached to it that seems to nebulously lead out into the sand and maybe the ocean, all of a sudden. “Yo,” he wearily greets into the cup in question.

“Emperor-san is coming back from the hospital this week.”

Rei sits up abruptly, the daze of a very good orgasm disappearing in an instant. “According to who?” 

_“Wataru.”_  Kanata’s voice is unmistakably neutral. _“Thought you might want to know~”_

Kaoru stares at Rei, as if he’s quite suddenly gone insane. “That’s...a cup. Whoa, where does that...?” He moves up to kneeling, touching the string and following it for a couple steps. 

“Is that Kaoru?”

“Ah—bye, Shinkai-kun!” Rei cheerfully retreats, ending the call by shoving the cup down into the sand. “Well, that was some interesting information—Kaoru-kun, don’t try to follow the string.”

Kaoru pauses at the name, blinking when the string seems to disappear once the call is cut short. “Did you say Shinkai-kun? Was that Kanata? What...” He inhales, and reminds himself that too much interest isn’t cool. “What’s up?” he asks, aiming for casual. “Must be important for him to call you with, uh, magic or some shit.”

“Kaoru-kun does seem to have a taste for supernatural beings, doesn’t he,” Rei hums, leaning back onto his hands as he tries not to vibrate visibly. “Tenshouin-kun is on his way back from the hospital, it seems.” 

“Oh, good,” Kaoru says automatically, before he remembers how much Rei hates their student council president, and covers up by adding, “Then we can finally defeat him, right? And make him taste defeat yada yada yada?”

“I hope he challenges us next week.” Rei might already be planning on the assumption that he _will_. “Then we can knock him down another peg—it’s all he deserves.” 

Kaoru picks himself off the beach with a huff, starting to brush off all the sand. Time to hear a lot about how bad Tenshouin is for the next few hours, he supposes. “Yep, he’s bad. Wanna start heading home?”

Rei’s eyes narrow as they follow after Kaoru. “A little more enthusiasm about his inevitable downfall would be lovely.” 

“You get energy when I’m not all floppy and happy and post-orgasmic, Sakuma-san. He doesn’t seem so important to me right now.”

It’s hard to argue with that, but Rei’s mind isn’t so kind about shutting the fuck up. “Taking him down is always important to me,” he says, climbing to his feet and grabbing up his coat to shake the sand out of it. “But I suppose it’s not really your problem, at the end of the day.” 

“It’s my problem as long as I’m in UNDEAD, you know? But, eh, he’s in my class and stuff, so it’s kinda hard for me to think of him like some kind of demon.”

“This was the Oddballs’ problem, originally.” 

Rei sighs, shrugging his coat back into place, dusting off a bit more sand. “But now I’ve made it UNDEAD’s problem, so I understand if you’re resistant to helping. Just don’t tell me if you genuinely think he’s a good person.”

“Gross, he’s definitely crazy,” Kaoru says with a laugh. He moves to behind Rei, brushing sand off of the shoulders over and over. “I’m just used to him, I guess? But he still surprises me all the damn time, ha.”

“Used to him?” Rei flips that around in his mind. “Ahh. You two are both in those super wealthy circles, hmm? No wonder you’re more tolerant of him being…the way he is.” He trails off, shaking out his hair, fairly certain the sand will never leave him alone. “I’m only used to him being terrible and hurting my friends.” 

“Mm, I was gonna say, Itsuki-kun’s been coming to class a lot more since you came back.” Kaoru slides his hand down to take Rei’s, tugging him towards the parking lot, trying to ignore the wet spot on his expensive trousers. “He’s still pretty weird, though...”

“Be nice. _I’m_  weird.” 

“Okay. Still crazy. Crazier than he used to be, I mean.”

Rei rolls his eyes, giving Kaoru’s hand a squeeze. “Shu knows if anyone bothers him, I’ll fuck them up,” he bluntly says, lapsed permanently back into his old (natural) style of speaking for this conversation, apparently. “If I hadn’t been in England, what happened wouldn’t have happened to him.”

“The...doll thing? Or the way he keeps fainting in the hallways?”

“The doll. The fainting is kinda…what he does.”

“Yeah, I remember that from middle school,” Kaoru muses, tapping his chin a little. “I mean, he’s always _played_ with dolls, but making one of them talk for him when he’s scared, that part’s new.”

Rei shakes his head, and grimaces as he bends to scoop up his shoes and socks, reminded of the chafing that coming in his pants ultimately causes. Poor planning, ugh. “If Tenshouin had beat him fair and square, this wouldn’t be an issue,” he quietly says. “Being an idol is a competition—we’re all gonna lose at some point. It’s…the way he treated him afterwards. The shit he pulled. The way he’s now dragged Wataru over to his side, and the way Kanata refuses to get involved at all because he’s too spooked. If I don’t do something, nothing’s going to change, and Tenshouin Eichi is going to think he can treat everyone like this for the rest of his life.” 

Yikes, looks like Kaoru isn’t getting out of this without a show of some enthusiasm. He clenches a fist, pumping it into the air, trying to summon some energy when he just wants to yawn. “Yeah! Let’s bring about his destruction! We’ll defeat him in a Live and make him crawl!”

The look Rei fixes upon him is wryly amused. “A good showing, Kaoru-kun,” he says, patting Kaoru on the back and handing him his helmet. “It’s okay. You can just keep being cute, I know it’s against your nature to be too aggressive.” 

Kaoru yawns for real now, and buckles on the helmet. “I’ll get charged up when we have a Live, I promise. Until then, I’ll let Wan-chan do the aggression for me.”

“Our pupper is good for that, isn’t he.” Rei slings a leg over his motorcycle. “Am I dropping you off at home at this hour?” 

“And get grilled by my folks? No way!” Kaoru laughs, checking his phone for the time. “It’s almost sunrise, man. Just take me to school early, I’ll sleep in the Marine Life Club room.”

“You could sleep in my coffin in the Light Music Club room,” Rei wheedles, buckling his own helmet on. “It’s way comfier, I promise.” 

“Ooh, special perks because I’m dating you? I’ll take it!”

It’s a problem, isn’t it, that warmth spreads across his face and even down into his chest when Kaoru says things like that. “Special perks,” Rei agrees all the same, and pats the seat behind him. “Hop on, and I’ll tuck you into bed.” 


	9. Chapter 9

Before Rei had gone overseas, Shu had mocked him for the way he’d groaned and whined and complained whenever the Light Music Club room had to be cleaned. After all, Rei has a perfectly serviceable home; what could he possibly need to do at the school that he’d need privacy for that he wouldn’t be able to do at home?

That was before he’d met Kagehira Mika, and his life had changed dramatically.

The loud droning of an industrial-strength vacuum almost drowns him out, and Shu tries in vain to tuck his dress shirt to his half-undone trousers, thumb getting tangled in his ruffles. “It isn’t that I don’t appreciate the depth of the cleanliness,” he huffs, grabbing Mika by the hand and tugging him covertly down a hallway, “but honestly, they could have a little more tact. Not that they knew I’d be using it, of course, but...”

But god, Mika’s hand had already been in his pants, those cheerful mismatched eyes eager, that lilting accent drawling hot in his ear, and how is he supposed to go home like this? Mika’s no better, awkwardly hard in his pants and all wandering hands, and Shu makes a split decision. “The theater. I used to write all their scripts--I know the trick to the door, this way.”

“Oshi-san’s a lot more bad than he wants to let on,” Mika lowly teases, grabbing tightly at Shu’s hand, his eyes bright and excited by the proposition of _doing it at school._  It’s not like he can help it; ever since Shu has been feeling any semblance of better, he’s been like this, and jumping at the chance to kiss him or touch him when he’s not hiding behind Mado-nee… 

Those moments are still pretty few and far between. 

“You sure no one’s gonna interrupt us in here?” Mika whispers skeptically as Shu leads the way. The theater’s pretty scary, actually. It’s big and wide and with every noise seeming like it’ll boom across the entire hall, and that freaks him out.

“Of course not. Theater folk never come in when the ghost light is on. They think it’s haunted, of course.” Shu gives Mika a brief smile. “The kind of creepy you enjoy, I’m sure.”

He leads Mika through the vomitorium, then across the stage, nodding to the ghost light before leading Mika to the costume closet, yanking it open. “I made half of these, at least. The good ones. So I have every right to be here.”

“Well,” Mika hedges, “if you say so.”

Which is about as far as he gets when it comes to hesitation, because hey, if Shu thinks it’s fine—and it clearly is _empty_ —then it must be fine! With a grin, he pounces, dragging Shu further into the closet and immediately shoving into him, his mouth on his neck, his hands on Shu’s belt. “Oshi-saaan,” he whines, “y’can’t jus’ expect me t’behave myself all day, this is what happens.”

“I--I can and I do, you miserable creature!” The words are indignant, but they don’t stop Shu’s talented hands from migrating, immediately delving below Mika’s waistband to cup his prize. It’s hot and hard and already slick at the tip, and dragging fingertips over the head makes his knees wobble. “Careful with--even a wretch like you--don’t leave _marks_ where people can see them, how unsightly!” 

They may have been an official couple for a few weeks now, but honestly, Mika is starting to lose control with the scant amount of leeway he has, and Shu hates it. Obviously. He’s hard and shivering because he hates it.

The way Shu grabs him makes Mika’s knees weak, and he wobbles, toppling and dragging Shu down with him when he hits the ground. He doesn’t apologize for it, not when his cock is so hard that he’s panting against Shu’s neck, planting another long, sucking kiss there when Shu complains about the first one. “Oshi-san must hate it an awful lot to be so hard,” he breathes, grabbing between Shu’s legs, squeezing the hard line of his cock. “You want me to suck it first? I will.” 

“O-of course not, something so dirty, I’d never--”

But Shu’s hands are moving, one of them grabbing Mika’s shoulder to urge him down, the other moving to undo his own belt and trousers the rest of the way. “But if you don’t,” he whispers, “I’ll probably die.”

Mika laughs at that, his face flushed and eager as he wriggles his way down, pleased that his attempts to rile Shu up have ended up so _successful._  “I got it, Oshi-san,” he reassures him, nuzzling his way down Shu’s flat stomach, down to the outline of his cock that’s so clearly seen underneath his underwear. “I’m gonna make you feel _so_  good—“

The haze of arousal makes Mika sluggish to react when a door (not the costume closet door, not yet) opens with a loud creak, and the sound of footsteps follow. “Honestly, Wataru,” comes Tenshouin Eichi’s exasperated, but still amused voice. “What’s a little superstition when _privacy_  is necessary?”

“Superstition? Perish the thought, _mon amour!_ It is merely that I, your Hibiki Wataru, would never wish to see the valiant, radiant Emperor brought low by something so transient as a ghost, so my footsteps will be respectful, and my tone softer than usual!”

“ _Merde_ ,” Shu spits under his breath, shoving Mika away and yanking up his pants, climbing swiftly to his feet. “Get up, get _up_ , he’s--”

“I’m surprised you don’t want me to just lock the theater doors for a few hours so that we can have the stage,” Eichi laughs, and Mika scrambles to do as he’s told when he hears Eichi’s footsteps approaching the closet door. “Wouldn’t that be fun, Wataru?” 

His voice drops, and he turns away from the closet, which is really, _really_  bad for Mika’s heart and the way it keeps thudding out of his chest. “If there’s a ghost, we should perform for it.” Eichi’s voice is lower, far more excited. “A dress rehearsal for when a full audience can see you splayed out here underneath me.”

_Well, fuck._ Apparently they weren’t the only ones with this particular idea. Mika shifts nervously, glancing over at Shu, unsure of what to do. _Escape? Stay put?_

Shu looks back, face twisting into a dozen emotions, most of which he only shows off with the benefit of Mademoiselle these days. Hatred is chief, but quickly subsumed under worries, and he holds a fingertip to his lips, urging silence and caution, then leaning close. “If they’re disgusting enough to use the stage, we’ll sneak out the back stairs.”

“The--on the stage, Eichi?” Wataru’s voice is startled, but it quickly turns to a delighted peal of laughter, and the footsteps fade slightly. “By all the gods of the theater, by Erato and Euterpe, have me onstage, where I was always meant to be!”

“That’s the spirit,” comes Eichi’s laughter, and the sound of scuffing feet against the floor makes it clear either he stumbled—or more likely, he’s grabbed Wataru and pulled him, somehow. “If we’re going to have the entire theater to ourselves…mmm, I’m wondering, how should I decorate you first? Maybe I should put you in something I can hike up…” 

Mika gulps. Maybe _he_  can fold up into a tiny enough ball to hide in the closet, but both of them—especially when Shu is all legs—is impossible.

“Later, later, my love.” Wataru’s feet brush the floor, far more lightly, and then there’s a rasp of clothing on the polished wood of the stage. “You must defrock your prey first, of course! Later, when we’re both thoroughly debauched and satisfied, I’ll bedeck myself in some elegant gown, and you can ravish me all over again. Doesn’t that sound _amazing_?”

Shu lets out a sigh, hand in his pocket on his cup phone, just in case he needs to make an emergency call. Maybe Wataru can sense him in here, vibrating like a trapped rabbit.

“I suppose…” Eichi muffles a cough into one hand, and the sound of clothing hitting the floor continues. “Mmnn, but Wataru, you need something with layers, and ruffles…I want to see how beautifully it will sprawl across the stage.” There’s nothing subtle about the wet, sucking sound that follows, or the little hitch of Eichi’s breath. “Didn’t Itsuki make most of the costumes? Heh, I should be in luck, then.” 

Mika bites his lip, glancing askance to Shu. _Are we making a run for it yet?_  He really, _really_  doesn’t want to be stuck in here, listening to these two going at it ( _especially_  Tenshouin), knowing that’s on borrowed time.

“He did, so they’re of course of the highest quality.” Wataru pauses, then adds, “And certainly they have all the ruffles you could desire! You grab something, I’ll ascend to the clouds and turn on the spotlights.”

“Hide,” Shu mutters quickly, and shoves Mika back into a pile of fabric scraps, dumping a box over his head. He has just enough time to straighten up and grab a jacket, looking as if he’s been going over it, before the door opens.

The door swings open, and there’s a hefty pause while Eichi takes stock. His face is impassive during that time before he smiles, slow and catlike, his lips just turning up at the corners. “Itsuki-kun. What a delight.” 

Mika does his best to freeze and remain unmoving underneath the piles of fabric—at least this isn’t his first time hiding from someone dangerous—but the idea of leaving Shu alone doesn’t sit well with him, and he remains tense and overly alert, breathing shallowly as he listens to Eichi’s footsteps.

“I didn’t expect anyone would be in here,” Eichi continues. “But I suppose you’ll do for an audience. Here, help me pick out something Wataru would look lovely in.”

“I want you to die right now,” Shu says, though he’d _meant_ to say something else, anything that will make Tenshouin _leave_. Well, there isn’t much he can do about that, given that the very sight of Tenshouin makes his mind want to flee, wishing that someone, anyone could take over, when all his words aren’t cruel enough, when anything he says is just going to make Tenshouin _laugh_ at him. Mademoiselle, he needs Mademoiselle, but she’s _not here_ , he _hates_ this, he--

He grabs a dress off the nearest rack and throws it at Tenshouin, one he’d made specifically for Wataru, and uses the rest of his small amount of composure to keep standing, though every part of him wants to shut down.

“Ooh, this is nice.” Eichi examines the dress critically before slinging it over his shoulder, and with a smile, grabs Shu’s wrist to haul him out of the closet. “Don’t you want to come help me put it on him? _You’re_  the designer, aren’t you? Wataru,” he calls, eyes alight, “we have an _audience._ ” 

“I--no! No! Tenshoin, unhand me, I--” Shu’s mind sparks, voice spiking into a shriek of horror, and he can already feel his vision graying at the edges.

Floodlights and spotlights flash to brilliant light, illuminating the stage, just a moment before a figure leaps out of the clouds, landing with a shock of impact on his feet. Wataru looks between Shu and Eichi, and a frown appears on his face. “Shu? What are you...”

On cue, Mika tumbles out of his hiding place, bits of fabric scrap still clinging to him when he lunges for Shu to snatch him out of Eichi’s hold and hurriedly, if not shakily, stand between the two of them. “D-don’t touch him!”

“Oh, my, Valkyrie’s here in the flesh,” Eichi titters, releasing Shu without much more of an argument. “They were hiding in the closet, Wataru, of _all_  things.”

“Splendid!” Wataru sweeps in front of Eichi, not coincidentally putting himself between Eichi and Valkyrie, arms spread in what looks like evident joy. “Ah, Shu, does this mean you’re going to write scripts for the theater club again? Are you taking my current sizes? I’ll act any script, your words are the only ones that compare with the True Greats, I suffer without them!”

Shu clutches at Mika’s shoulder, clinging to him as if he’s the last lifeline he’ll ever have, but he can’t make Mika talk for him, can’t use his voice and mouth effortlessly, and his mouth flaps helplessly, no words coming out. _No, no, not like this, not in front of Tenshouin, anything but this..._

“O…Oshi-san doesn’t have time for that kinda stuff anymore, he’s too busy with Valkyrie!” If he’s defending Shu, it’s a _lot_  easier to be sharp and forceful, even if Mika feels his own legs start to wobble. It’s _scary_  staring down someone like Eichi, and Wataru is just as tall and intimidating and loud. 

“Oh?” Eichi peers around Wataru, his smile unrelenting. “Then why were the two of you here?”

Mika swallows hard. “We…we were…’s not like you’re the only ones allowed in th’ theater!” he snaps, feeling his face flush hot at the pathetic excuse, and he grabs backwards for one of Shu’s hands again. “Our Lives are good enough for a theater, anyway, so why not be here to practice!” 

“That sounds like an unauthorized use of—“

“It was hypothetical! C…c’mon, Oshi-san, we gotta go.”

“That word is too big for you,” Shu mutters, his brain slowly kicking into gear now that someone is talking _for_ him. Yes, this is why he lets Mika put his tongue down his throat. “We’re--yes, we’re leaving.”

“Farewell, my friends!” Wataru says happily, waving them away with great fanfare. “Step lightly, walk proudly! I eagerly anticipate the day we can face the full-strength Valkyrie once more!”

“If you need unit funds, you can always volunteer to make more dresses for Wataru!” Eichi sweetly calls after them, to which Mika hisses over his shoulder like a particularly hostile cat as he drags Shu away. “Did you see that enormous hickey on Itsuki’s neck?” he says with a laugh, turning back to Wataru with the dress still in hand. “Who would have thought they were so bold?” 

“But more importantly,” Wataru cuts in, somehow managing to shimmy out of his shirt, jacket, trousers, and all underwear in less than three seconds, “is how I’m going to look in that gown. Ah, did you ever see me do Lady M, in the Scottish Play? I was a revelation, or so my standing ovations said.”

“I missed that, how unfortunate.” Admittedly, Eichi doesn’t particularly care when he has a very naked Wataru in front of him, with every opportunity in the world to put him in a dress and then flip his skirts. The spotlights are already making him sweat, and Eichi licks his lips. “Step in, I’ll do it up in the back for you.”

Wataru does as bidden immediately, then steps out just as quickly. “Wait, wait, this dress has shoes!”

He runs to the closet, easily locating his old high heels, pausing a moment when he finds a Yumenosaki blazer. From the scent, it’s the Kagehira boy’s. Ah, Shu will be displeased with such a thing. Tomorrow, that’s the time to return it. 

He struts back out in powder-blue stilettos, easing long legs back into the hole in the top. “If I’m doing this, we’re doing it magnificently, of course. Feel free to cinch me in quite tightly, I’m certain the eyelets can handle the strain.” The muscles of his back flex in anticipation, eyes dancing.

Eichi will give Itsuki Shu credit for being an _excellent_  dressmaker. There’s nothing unflattering about the way the layers of fabric flow from Wataru’s body, and Eichi allows himself a long moment to simply stare, his eyes lidded as he circles around Wataru like he’s _actually_  going to eat him. “Wataru…why haven’t I insisted upon this before?” he murmurs, meticulously combing Wataru’s hair out of the way and over his shoulder with his fingertips to give himself the perfect view of his back, and the undone corsetry. Eichi trails a finger down from the back of Wataru’s neck, down to the eyelets in question. “You _do_  look like a goddess, and we’ve barely even begun.” 

Wataru flutters his lashes, then dips a low, elegant curtsy, skirts swishing around his legs in whispering rustles. “A goddess? Or a noble lady, ever so eager to serve her lord...perhaps? Ah, write a script for me, I’m no good at improv.” 

His eyes flash, and he reaches out, trailing a fingernail down Eichi’s chin. “Who do you want me to be, Your Highness?”

“You’re a liar is what you are,” Eichi says with a laugh, his eyes dark and eager as he steps around, grabbing handfuls of the corset strings to abruptly still Wataru’s movements. “You know how to improv just fine. But I’ll give you a bone.” 

He yanks once, which does up a good part of the dress, but, mm, there’s still more tightening that needs to be done. “A goddess turned consort, perhaps, stolen from the heavens for my amusement.” Another, swift pull with both hands, and Eichi licks his lips, pleased with how tightly Wataru’s waist is cinched now. “It’s up to you whether or not you enjoy your fate, but you’re mine to do with as I please either way.”

“A magnificent scenario, methinks,” Wataru says merrily, shaking out his hair as he tries to suck in a breath. Ah, that’s more difficult than usual with his corsets so tight, and already he feels color rising in his cheeks, ribs straining against the tight boning. “Ahh...my lord, your humble consort hopes that she is to your liking, this evening. I can only pray that your tastes will be...gentle.” The flutter of long lashes speaks volumes to anyone who knows how to read it.

Any illusion of gentleness flutters out the window when Eichi yanks on the last bit of slack in the corset, and ties it off in short order. He can already hear how strained Wataru’s breathing is, and his cock gives an accompanying twitch of approval. “I’ll be as gentle as I like…or I won’t.” His fingers card through Wataru’s hair, spinning it around his fingers. The lights overhead glaring down onto them almost makes it glitter, and Eichi attributes his own lightheadedness to the same thing. “On your knees,” he softly commands. 

Wataru’s knees hit the stage with slightly less grace than he’d intended. The shortness of breath truly does create the most wonderful feelings, a giddy panic that makes him inhale only shallowly, chest heaving as if he’s a shocked lady in a period drama--quite accurate just now, he muses, looking up at Eichi above him, eyes wide and doe-like in the lights. Even knowing they’re alone, being on a stage with lights on makes him think _audience_ , and that quickens his blood as much as the strings. “Y-yes, milord,” he whispers, hands folded gently in his lap, the very picture of pure maidenhood--if no one were to notice the muscular curve of his shoulders. “Your mercy, I beg--”

Eichi sucks in a soft, eager breath. Certainly they’ve _talked_  about doing this sort of thing before, but bringing a passing joke, a secret fantasy to reality like this is a whole new level. 

And Wataru does _not_  disappoint. 

He could be gentle. He _could_  play the role of a benevolent lord, pampering and sweetly making love to his consort…ahh, but doesn’t he do that often enough? Dragging Wataru into his hospital bed to have him however he likes has become a pastime, but there, he’s much more careful than he wants to be now. 

Eichi’s hand slides down to his belt as he steps forward, unbuckling it and letting it hit the stage with a _clunk_. “Maybe if you behave and take care of your lord,” he murmurs, his hand sliding down to squeeze the hard line of his cock through his trousers. His other hand fists into Wataru’s hair, jerking him forward. “Everyone needs to see how… _improper_  of a lady you are.”

“I-improper? I, milord?” Wataru licks his lips, but turns his face away from where Eichi stands. It’s always his impulse, over the last several weeks, to follow Eichi’s lead. That way leads to magnificent heights, to situations he’d never imagined, to the kind of amazing life he’s only dreamed about, where all eyes are on him and no one ever tires of looking at him, where he’s everyone’s favorite and never alone. 

As far as Wataru is concerned, Eichi can have anything he wants.

He struggles against the hand in his hair, just a little, mindful of the fact that he’s vastly stronger than Eichi is. “You couldn’t mean--I could never do something so lewd, milord!”

“You don’t want to be good for me?” Eichi tsks in disappointment, his grip tightening in Wataru’s hair the second he tries to pull away. Wataru’s hair feels silky-soft in his grasp, and it’s a simple thing to switch his grip, wrapping Wataru’s hair around his throat to use it like a leash as he flicks open the fly to his trousers with the other hand. “How unfortunate. This way it’ll be much more unsightly, you know.” 

“No--milord, I’m a pure maid, my family would never take me back, they’ll cast me out!” Eichi may not recognize the voice, but that makes little difference to Wataru. It’s stolen from a period drama he’d seen years earlier, full of elegant ladies and courtly manners, the sort that would all faint at the idea of what he’s using their dulcet tones for now. It’s perfect, he knows, just the right amount of panic and desperation. “Milord, I beg you, leave my honor intact, I’ll do anything!”

“I’ve already told you what I want.” 

The edge of panic in Wataru’s voice makes his cock twitch when he pulls it free, already achingly hard, a drop of precome budding at the tip. Eichi sucks in a slow, measured breath, his eyes lidded as he jerks Wataru forward by his makeshift leash, and the head of his cock bumps against one pristine cheek. “Be a good girl,” Eichi breathes, grabbing Wataru’s chin and dragging his thumb over his lower lip. “Open your mouth.” 

Wataru expects the thrill of pleasing Eichi. It’s become ingrained in him by now, the near-compulsive desire to make Eichi’s eyes light up, to entertain him. What he isn’t expecting is that the scenario is affecting him as well, making his ribs heave inside the tight strings, letting little spots of color pop behind his eyes, chest straining against the fabric, cock hardening unnoticed under the skirts. 

He looks up, letting a few huge tears fall from his eyes, and whispers around the thumb on his lip, “If I do...will you leave the rest of me alone?”

Eichi’s eyes glitter, and his lips part as he considers. “…If you do an _excellent_  job,” he murmurs, and his thumb slips into Wataru’s mouth, forcing it open further before he can protest. “I’ll be merciful. Mmn, a lady like yourself should really learn to be quiet anyway, so this should help you learn.” 

Slipping his cock past those soft, _lovely_  lips makes Eichi’s breath catch up hard in his chest, and steadying himself comes in the form of curling his fingers around the back of Wataru’s head, dragging his mouth down onto his cock. The spotlights already have sweat trickling down from his hairline, but _this_  makes his knees weak—the hot, wet slickness of Wataru’s mouth around his cock, making him shudder, his cock leaking freely as it rubs down around his tongue.

Wataru’s eyes slide shut almost automatically, weeks of practice with this sort of activity making him lean forward like the most trainable of Pavlov’s dogs, mouth watering involuntarily, until he remembers his character. 

Then he opens his mouth hesitantly, lashes fluttering meekly, glistening with tears. He puts up a slight struggle before giving in to his fate, hands balled into impotent fists on his thighs, letting out a choking gasp as he tries to take more of Eichi’s familiar cock into his mouth. _If only there were a real audience_ , he thinks wistfully, and his cock hardens more.

“There we go, that’s a good girl.” The second Wataru hesitates is the second Eichi lets his hips shove forward, stuffing his cock further down Wataru’s throat. That bit of struggle, that resistance, the way Wataru chokes—that all just serves to make him harder, throbbing against Wataru’s tongue as his fingers twist up tightly into his hair. “Now everyone can see,” he pants out, “just what you were made for.” 

Wataru chokes at that, letting out a frantic, muffled squeal as Eichi shoves into his throat. He swallows hard--his character is an amateur (Lady Gwendolyn Marchmonte would never have done anything like this before), and would be terrified that she’d choke to death. He darts nervous, panicked eyes towards the audience, and takes a moment to cherish what a good job he’d done with the lights. Like this, it’s impossible to see if anyone’s watching or not. For all he knows, there could be a full house, all of them watching Tenshouin Eichi use him like a prostitute.

“Ahh, too much?” Eichi breathlessly laughs, drawing back when he feels Wataru’s throat tighten, nearly feels him cough. The little sticky, gossamer strand that connects the tip of his cock to Wataru’s lips snaps when he nudges it against his mouth again. “And here I thought someone as lovely as you would have shown off before. It’s fine to enjoy it; everyone already knows you’re a whore, anyway.” 

“I’m a good girl,” Wataru insists, voice hushed and raw, roughened by the assault on his throat. “I’ve--I’ve never done anything like this, milord, oh, please have mercy!” 

He reaches up, fisting his hands in Eichi’s trousers, blinking pleadingly up at him, rising up onto his knees. “No more, I beg of you, don’t force me--not in front of all these people!” Heat burns in his belly, the sense of eyes on him almost enough to bring him over the edge untouched, even if it’s just a fantasy. Eichi’s way of playing along is almost enough to make it real.

Eichi licks at his lips, and slowly, he draws a hand out from where it’s tangled within Wataru’s hair, all to strike him across the face.

It isn’t a slap hard enough to bloody or bruise, nothing like that, how could he? He still wants to look at how _beautiful_  Wataru is, after all…but the allure of being able to hit someone that can take it, even if they recoil afterwards and _shut up_ … 

“That’s enough _whining._ ” Another shove is enough to make Wataru fall back, and Eichi follows him down, dropping to his knees to more easily flip Wataru facedown, shoving a hand between his shoulderblades to keep him there. “You’ve lost the chance for me to be merciful,” he murmurs, grabbing for the end of Wataru’s skirts to hike them up. “I’ll just have you like I wanted in the first place.”

Wataru bites his own lip hard enough almost to bleed, all to keep from moaning in pleasure. His cheek burns, but not in real pain, more in startled shock than anything, enough to add an edge to the pleasure that makes his hands slip on the stage. The sudden sweep of cool air across his thighs and ass makes him suck in a breath, and he makes an unserious attempt to crawl away from Eichi’s strong hands, knees shaking on the floor. “M-m-milord, please, not that--anything but that, let me please you with my mouth, I--at least be gentle, I’m begging--”

Eichi snatches him back by the hair, holding him in place as the head of his cock nudges at that tight, twitching little hole. “Keep begging, I like it,” he says, his laugh breathless, and the first thrust of his cock inside takes what’s left of his breath away.

Wataru’s saliva and the dripping, sticky precome at the tip of his cock and helps ease himself inside somewhat, but it’s still tight, tense, and Wataru’s squirming makes it harder—which just makes it _better._  Wrapping that long hair around his arm to jerk Wataru back onto his cock makes Eichi pant out a hot, wet breath against his back, and he grinds in hard, his other hand fisting against the stage floor to brace himself. “See, you’re made for this,” he groans, his head thunking forward against Wataru’s back.

Eichi’s jerk takes him by surprise, and Wataru lets out an entirely honest whimper when that thick cock is suddenly in _deep_ , his eyes flying open in a brutal heartbeat. “Too...much,” he groans, back arching in sudden pleasure when Eichi’s cock snaps into him, rubbing against something so _good_ inside him that a pool of liquid forms on the stage. Wataru’s face goes slack, red with pleasure and shame, and his eyes dart to the audience, then down to the floor. The humiliation doesn’t feel like a ploy anymore, not when he’s more and more confident that there _is_ someone in the audience, watching him play the whore. “Milord,” he gasps, because they might as well have a _good_ show, “it’s too much, you can’t--milord, you’re hurting...ahhh, why does it feel so...”

Eichi fumbles to snake a hand underneath Wataru, and laughs raggedly as he leans back, giving the curve of his ass a pinch. “What did I say?” he taunts, slowly drawing back, his eyes trained on the way Wataru’s back arches and strains when drawn up into that corset, on the way that his body twitches and struggles, torn between wriggling back and pulling away. “You’re made for this. You’re no more than a whore, are you?” 

Fucking in hard is _easy_  when Wataru’s body is still somehow so… _pliant._  Eichi yanks on his hair again, using that to drag Wataru back onto his cock, and he surges forward to get his mouth on the back of Wataru’s neck, sucking hard. “You feel them watching you?” he rasps. His breath keeps catching in his throat now, which is distracting as much as it is mildly painful, but he ignores it for now. “They can _tell_  you enjoy it—that you wanted me to fuck you all along.”

Wataru _does_ feel the eyes on him, boring into him from the audience, dozens, hundreds, _thousands_ of people all watching his degradation. That wrings out another spasm of his orgasm, wracking him with enough pain-tinted pleasure to make him cry out, writhing under Eichi’s none-too-gentle ministrations. 

“M-milord,” he gasps, thrusting back against Eichi’s cock, eyes squeezing shut when that genuinely feels like _too much_. “Don’t--hide me, please, don’t let them see--I’ll be good for you, I’ll be your--”

Eichi barely hears him over the thudding of his own pulse in his ears, the searing, white-hot sensation of being able to force Wataru down and make him take his cock. Having such a good handle is part of it—no part of Wataru is left unexposed, his face forced up to face the eyes that would be on him if Eichi could make it happen, the lights glaring down onto them when he shoves in, again, again—

His breath is _gone_  when he comes, and his fingers fumble, slipping to the stage floor as he spills with each spasm leaving his hips to thrust in hard through his orgasm. Eichi feels his knees wobble as he pants and wheezes against Wataru’s back, clawing a hand up to his corset strings as if holding onto those is a sufficient substitute for breathing on his own. “Mine,” he gasps. “You’re mine, _mine_ —“

Wataru’s head thunks slowly to the ground, and he reaches back, trying through his daze to find the smallest spark of magic, something his enemies will never detect, just enough to loosen Eichi’s airways. Even Eichi probably won’t notice, but it’s enough to stop an oncoming coughing fit, at least, and Wataru slumps against the floor. “Does your prize...please you, milord?”

Somehow, Eichi manages to catch his breath, and he groans as he nuzzles his face into Wataru’s sweaty, thoroughly mussed hair. “You’ve been so…so good,” he manages. “Nnn, I’m keeping you forever, my perfect consort…I told you you’d like it, I told you.” 

Wataru can almost hear the applause, a beatific smile on his face, even as his body is limp, blissed out. “Next time....I’ll please you right the first time, milord. I’ll be your eager slave.”

“If you do as I say,” Eichi says contently, languidly plucking at Wataru’s corset strings, “you’ll be _thoroughly_  taken care of. Just remember that.” 

Wataru turns his head, blinking up at Eichi with long lashes. “Yes, milord. I’ll never forget, after tonight.”

And with that, Eichi flops, his head thunking down into Wataru’s back. “I give uuup,” he bemoans, yanking the knot in the corset loose to free Wataru’s poor, aching ribs. “Is there anything you’re bad at? Wataru, you’re spoiling me, be my ravaged damsel in distress all the time…” 

Wataru sucks in a breath in relief, some of the graying around his eyes receding at last. He pants quietly for a few moments, savoring the sweet taste of as much air as he likes. “We should...continue to test my capabilities,” he breathes, turning to brush the hair out of Eichi’s face. “So we can find if there’s anything I’m truly bad at.”

“Uh uh.” Eichi surges forward, kissing Wataru’s palm. “I know there’s nothing you’re bad at—and even if there is, don’t tell me, I won’t believe you.”

“We should still keep searching, though,” Wataru says merrily, flopping onto his back, staring unblinkingly up at the lights. “How else am I supposed to keep you entertained for eternity, Your Majesty?”

“Oh, easily.” Eichi shifts, flopping down atop Wataru’s chest, and smiles up at him. “More of the same will do, with a dash of conquering here and there. You are far from just a jester, you realize.” 

“Far from? Then by all means, I must endeavor to get closer to a jester or two, to better learn their secrets!”

“You’re not going anywhere right now, we’re basking,” Eichi grumbles, grabbing a handful of Wataru’s hair as if that’ll keep him in place and incapable of disappearing in a poof of feathers. Maybe he should be more concerned about class, and anyone interrupting them when they’ve been using the theater for so long, but…oh well. “Wataru. This year is _my_  year.”

Wataru preens under Eichi’s ministrations, as if he’s a bird having his feathers stroked. “Of course it is,” he murmurs, smoothing down his skirts. “Will you be defeating them separately, or all together?”

Wataru, only Wataru, has ever been able to follow his thought processes so fluidly. “Separately, I think. It’s much more fun to be a sharp shooter than just have a machine gun and go at it willy-nilly, don’t you think?” Eichi says with a laugh, shifting to tuck himself back into his pants and arrange himself more comfortably atop all of Wataru’s layers and ruffles. Silk atop solid, warm muscle is a delightful feeling, and Eichi could get used to this. “‘Valkyrie’—“ The quotations are audible. “Isn’t a concern. So logically, my oldest problem needs to be dealt with first instead.”

Wataru stretches out, fingers and toes stretching and popping as he dislocates and relocates them one by one, just because he can. “I am but your arrow, of course. Point me where you would, pull me tightly, and let me fly as you aim.” _Just don’t ask me to choose._

“I’ll be challenging UNDEAD to a Live by the end of the month…so that should be delightful, right?” 

Eichi squirms his way up, planting a kiss to the side of Wataru’s neck. “You’ll be my king piece, won’t you? No one else will do.”

“The Emperor doesn’t wish to rule?” Wataru asks, amused. “Of course I shall serve, and splendidly so, until you tire of your humble jester, my liege.” And if it means defeating Rei, well, how amazing! If Rei didn’t want to join in glorious battle, he’d have gone to a musical academy. The glory of being idols has always been intertwined with combat, of course.

“I’m a conquerer, not a fool,” Eichi hums, folding his arms atop Wataru’s chest and plopping his head down upon him. “Why not use someone so gloriously at my disposal? Ahh, it’ll be like we’re reliving the war, when is the last time any Oddballs have gone up against one another…” 

Wataru smiles instead of answering. They both know the last time. It isn’t something he wants to talk about, though there is a lingering sense of wistful regret that it’d turned out that way. At the same time...it had been somewhat magnificent, watching Eichi completely unleashed. But doing things this way is better all around, delighting in the performance of youth, the exuberance of singing and dancing together, building each other up in laughter...yes, it’s better. “I never tire of being onstage with you,” he murmurs, reaching up to brush a thumb over Eichi’s cheekbone.

Eichi’s eyes lid fondly, and he turns his head into the touch, pressing a kiss to the inside of Wataru’s wrist. “And I you,” he softly says. “There’s no way I could ever tire of you.” In defeat or victory, Eichi is sure that much would reign true.


	10. Chapter 10

Rei is fairly certain Kaoru’s parents know.

If they do, they’re at least kind enough to not comment. They still regard him with judging eyes the entire duration of his ‘home visit’ (does an enormous, sprawling mansion count as a ‘home’?) and Kaoru’s father quizzes him on every single part of his 10-point plan to catapult UNDEAD to the top (which Rei absolutely comes up with on the fly—no one ever said he didn’t interview well!).

The failsafe of playing piano for them for most of the evening proves effective, even if he has to spend the majority of his time watching Kaoru break out into cold sweats. 

That’s the first on his list to deal with this week, followed shortly by Koga.

Koga, fortunately, is simple. Terrified, but simple, and it has nothing to do with anything Koga’s done, and everything to do with his own terrible personality. Rei figures the first step to fixing anything comes with acknowledging that, and sidling up to Koga at the pastry counter during lunch means he has one very high-strung, antsy dog on his hands. “Ritsu,” he attempts, “likes the—“

“Yeah, I know which ones he likes. I did watch after him for a year.”

Rei does keep forgetting that, doesn’t he. He shifts awkwardly for a moment, glancing aside, and he finally sighs, hanging his head. “Thank you for taking care of my little brother.”

Koga nearly drops the pastry he just bought, his face hot. “Uh—“

“And now I’m going to drop the topic entirely and we’re going to talk music instead. fine challenged us.”

Somehow, the pastry doesn’t hit the floor this time either. “Cool. I mean, right, yeah, let’s kick their asses!” 

Dogs are so good. 

The next order of business…well, it’s fine, and it will be fine until they’re defeated, but more pressing is the little habit Rei’s mind has of drifting towards thoughts of Kaoru. It’s not annoying that he’s thinking about him, but more that he can’t answer when pressed what Kaoru’s favorite pastry is when Koga is buying them for his little brother, and the idea that he should work on that is—  


_We’re not really dating, reel it in, Sakuma Rei._

That doesn’t stop him from ending up in class 3-A before anyone else should be there, an iPod stuffed full of solo tracks that he may or may not have written specifically for Kaoru for this upcoming Live in his pocket, plus or minus a handwritten note detailing a little too much about lyrics and what have you—but lo and behold, Itsuki Shu is there, some tiny sewing project on his desk, and Rei bites down on a sigh. “Shu,” he greets, wondering how discreet he can be about essentially leaving Kaoru a pathetic, condensed stack of love letters barely fit for being passed in class. “You’re so early—did Valkyrie have practice this morning?” 

Shu’s eyes tighten around the edges, and he almost reaches for Mademoiselle, but this is Rei. Rei, as far as he’s concerned, is still safe. “That fool Kagehira,” he says with a sigh, needle plunging in and out of Mademoiselle’s new dress. She sits calmly in her own chair perched atop his desk, watching gently over him while he sews the bodice. “He’s gone and signed us up for a Live, of all things. Not that my dancing is up to par, but he seems to have...overlooked such concerns. I’ll need to tune him up later.”

“That’s good, though!” Rei subtly drops himself down at Kaoru’s desk, smiling. The second he gets a chance to drop this incriminating mess off, he’ll do it. Just…not yet. “You should be performing. Though I’m a little insulted you didn’t tell me about it, you know I want to come.” 

Shu’s face flushes. “I’m not ready for that. I’m not...in perfect shape, yet. You can come see me when Valkyrie is on top once more and we defeat even you, my friend.” His eyes dart around looking for anything else to focus on. “Are those letters? You need a proofreader again?”

“Ah, no, no, it’s music for our new songs, for our upcoming Live,” Rei hastily dismisses—maybe _too_  hastily, but this is Shu, not Wataru, maybe he won’t pry. He _not_  so subtly plops a hand on top of the envelope, covering Kaoru’s name written quite prettily in romanji script. _Redirect, redirect!_ “Are you going to come to _our_  Live, at least?” 

“If...I feel well enough,” Shu says carefully. Rei hasn’t been back for long--he might not understand that the phrase is Shu’s current method of getting out of plans. “Planning for this Live is stressful. When and where is it?”

“Next Wednesday night, at the main Live House—it’s the _good_  one, you’re not allowed to skip out.” Rei reaches over, unable to resist mussing Shu’s hair. “Don’t you want to see me crush Tenshouin?” 

“Of course. That sounds delightful.” Shu doesn’t react to his hair being mussed, except to go rigid in his seat, but his fingers are white-knuckled on the needle.

“Shu-kun,” Mademoiselle says softly, “couldn’t bear to watch you lose, Rei-chan.”

Rei scoffs at that. “I’m not going to lose.” He leans forward, dropping his hand to Shu’s shoulder instead. “Shu…this isn’t going to be like what happened before, or what happened to Valkyrie. I know all of his tricks, and even if he has Wataru, it doesn’t _matter._ ” 

“I said all those things, too.” Shu’s words are quiet, and he’d never say them to anyone else. It’s the only warning he can give before his throat locks up, and he bends over his work again. 

“But you had never gone head to head with him.” Rei reaches out with both hands to grab Shu’s shoulders and give him a slow shake. “And you didn’t listen to me,” he gently reminds him. “Shu, you’re brilliant, talented, and I love you, but you’re _so_  stubborn. You can’t play a long game, you just have to throw yourself headlong into everything. Against Tenshouin, that doesn’t work. I learned that first, remember?” 

“Exactly.” Shu straightens Mademoiselle’s clothes, touching his own hems. He can’t undress her, not here, not where she’d be nude in public, but he itches to try her new little soldier coat on her. It’ll fit, of course, but it would be nice to try it on. “I’ve seen him destroy you once before. I prefer not to watch you waste away once more.”

“Because he kept dragging me into daytime Lives and—“ Rei purses his lips, and pinches Shu’s cheek in retaliation. “I learned my lesson, is the point. You’re being so negative. Let me avenge you properly already.” 

But if he takes you down and it’s for my sake, that’s my fault, too.

Instead of that stupid thing, Shu just says, “Let me know when you’ll be squaring off. But Rei, I won’t be pleased if you defeat him, either. Tenshoin is my prize to defeat.”

_“That’s not fair,” Rei complains. “I have to take him down to win. Let me step on him a little—do you know how many new songs I wrote?” The floodwaters have now been unleashed. “You need to invite me over so I can help you with your music again. Remember our sleepovers? Beatrice must miss me.”_

Shu starts to say something, then pauses, ears turning pink. He hasn’t exactly mentioned to anyone that Mika lives with him now, and Rei is one of the few people in the world whose opinion he actually cares about. “Maybe, maybe another time. Later. After--later. Maybe after your Live. Or mine. Or just...later.”

Rei’s head cocks, and his eyes zero in on a particularly incriminating mark on Shu’s neck that he just _has_  to reach for, dragging his thumb over. “Or are your sleepovers… _reserved_  these days?” he lowly teases. “So Mademoiselle was telling the truth, huh?” 

Shu slaps at Rei’s hand, face burning. “Don’t lie, Wataru talked, didn’t he?”

“Eh? No, Wataru hasn’t said anything.” He’s been ignoring Wataru for his own sanity, these days. “I was merely admiring his fantastic aim…he’d be a great vampire—he even has a cool name for it, _Kage_ hira—“

“You will leave him alone!” Shu’s voice spikes suddenly high and shrill and _angry_ , and he bends over the clothing on his desk. “I mean it, Rei. Even if it’s you, if you do anything to Kagehira, I won’t forgive you!”

_Touchy._  Not that Rei can blame him, circumstances considered. “Easy, easy. I’m not touching him,” Rei says, holding his hands up in immediate surrender. “All I’m doing is teasing you. I think he’s cute, and I think you deserve someone as loyal as him. He’s a good boy, you know?” 

Shu studies Rei for a long moment, gauging his sincerity, then sniffs. “He’ll do, I suppose. He has flaws, certainly. Honestly, he’s mostly flaws. I’ve...made many mistakes, working on him.”

“Oh, no. I don’t think so. He’s as cute as a button, and those eyes…” Undoubtedly, that uniqueness had been one of the things Shu had been drawn to in the first place. “It’s honestly hard to mess up anything that’s already that good,” Rei reassures him, leaning back with a sigh. “Or so I say, but I worry about the same thing often.” 

Warily, Shu starts stitching again, looking side-eyed at Rei. “How is Ritsu these days, then? I hear a great deal about you and Hakaze, of course, but I know you better than that.”

Rei grimaces, glancing down at his lap, and at the suspicious envelope that he has still yet to properly hide within Kaoru’s desk. _In a second, I’ll do it in a second._ “Ritsu is…avoiding me entirely,” he settles for. “And Kaoru-kun…puts up with a great deal. So when I say I worry about the same things as you often, I mean it.” 

Shu’s face twists unhappily, and his fingers still. He looks up at Rei, a hint of the wretched expression he’d worn the last year on his face, then shakes his head, banishing it entirely. “Very well. Perhaps we should have some time together after all. I’m certain my house will do.”

“Rei-chan,” Mademoiselle says, “Shu-kun is too embarrassed to ask, but you’re in class with Nazuna-chan, right? You could tell him how he’s doing, and if he talks about Shu-kun.”

_That’s probably not healthy_ , Rei wants to say, but ah, how many times has Shu enabled him in the past? He pauses, and smiles wryly. _Just this once._  “Nito-kun is taking care of himself,” he says. “He doesn’t talk about much of anything except for Rab*its, and that’s fair—he’s a busy child.” He hesitates, and then adds, quietly, “Wait to try and reconcile with him. Easier said than done, I know, I know, but let him try and approach you first, all right?” 

Shu waves a hand, then drags it down his face, as if to wipe away the feelings and expressions from inside his head. “I’m leaving him alone. Not speaking at all--me, can you imagine?--mostly because I’m afraid I’ll hurt his feelings. I used to...do that quite frequently, you know.”

Rei’s nod is a sympathetic one. “It’s hard, being bad with the people you like the most.” His shoulders heave in a shrug. “Which is why I’m trying to give Ritsu his space, I suppose. And…” If Shu is trying to offer himself up and be vulnerable, there should be a trade involved; that’s why they’ve always gotten along well, this give and take. “And why I’m here,” he laughs wearily at himself. “Being a lovesick puppy. Ahh, I fucked up, please criticize me.” 

Without looking up, Shu holds out a hand palm-up. “Hand them over, I’ll proofread.”

“I’ll die, please don’t say anything out loud about them,” Rei whimpers, handing the envelope over with a wince. “Sorry, lots of it is in English, we use it to talk about stupid people.”

“A secret language? How romantic of you, Rei.” Shu flips quickly through the stack, then tucks them into his school bag. “I’ll return them with corrections tomorrow. Do you want me to skew towards lyrical, or heartfelt?” How many times had he done this for all his friends, long ago? It feels comfortingly familiar, something he used to be good at that he’s _still_ good at.

“Heartfelt? I don’t want to come off as heavy-handed or pretentious.” Rei hangs his head with a sigh. “I’m barking up the wrong tree entirely, I know. I had to force him into this situation to begin with, and just because he vaguely enjoys my company now means nothing.” 

Shu tsks his tongue. “You can decide that after he reacts to your letters. Don’t think so ill of yourself, Rei. After all, you have my good opinion. Among people of taste, that’s the only thing that matters. And don’t forget it!”

“Assuming I can even brave the task of handing them over,” Rei manages nervously, and stuffs the iPod into Kaoru’s desk with its own hand-written note (“your new solos! ♬”) before he backs out of that, too. “Your opinion is important, Shu, but can it override boys that are at least 95% straight?”

In answer, Shu reaches over, fingers businesslike as he jerks down Rei’s collar and pokes at a bruise on his neck. “Something can, it seems. Turnabout is fair play, ha!”

Rei’s mouth opens, then shuts, and he huffs as he sits back, rubbing at his hickey. “Yeah, well. He liked my motorcycle.” 

“You got a _motorcycle?_ ” Shu snorts. “So much for bucking stereotypes. You used to be my partner in such things.”

“I got an international driver’s license!” Rei whines. “You can’t blame me. I’ll give you a ride on it sometime, it’ll be fun. That’ll help buck off some stereotypes for _you_ , if nothing else.” 

“You’ll never get me on one of those death machines. You know they call them _donorcycles_ in English? Because that’s where they get most of the organs for organ transplants!”

“But I’m a good driver! C’mon, Shu, you think it’s sexy, you know you do.”

“Rei-chan, behave yourself!” The high-pitched voice giggles, and Shu reaches out to move Mademoiselle a little with the words. “Shu-kun’s sexy feelings are reserved these days.”

“Fiiine, it was just an offer,” Rei says with a flutter of one hand, and then reaches out to straighten one of Mademoiselle’s curls. “Maybe I should take Mademoiselle instead.” 

“Ah! So manly, so attractive! Shu-kun thinks so t--”

“Stop flirting with her,” Shu snaps, pulling Mademoiselle to his chest. “Go back to your own classroom, Dracula.”

“Classroom? I’m going to bed,” Rei says with a yawn, mussing Shu’s hair once more as he hauls himself to his feet. “Time to see if I can get held back one more year to _finally_  be in Ritsu’s class after all.” 

“Good luck. Or unluck, as the case may be.” Shu flutters his fingers in farewell, finally finishing Mademoiselle’s dress--not that he’ll let her change in front of Rei, that wicked flirt.


	11. Chapter 11

“Sakuma-san...I love you. Even if you’re a guy. Which normally I wouldn’t be into, because I _really_ like girls. Heh, but I guess I can make an exception, because...”

No, that won’t do at all. Another shot. 

“Sakuma-san, I know this started because you needed a date because your mom wanted to hop into your pants, but things have gotten kinda crazy. Not in a bad way, I mean! Heh, I mean, some of it was pretty weird, but it’s not like...”

No, no good. Too rambling.

“Short and to the point, eh? I love you, Sakuma-san. Even if you’re a guy. Ah, that’s not what I mean, I mean, it’s more like _especially_ if you’re...well, no, that doesn’t make any sense, I definitely still like girls better than guys. But I like you most of all! Not that I don’t still look at girls, heh, who could stop? But...”

Kaoru stops pacing, slumps over the grand piano in the empty practice room, and groans. “This is gonna suck.”

Koga’s special skill is _actually_  being real sneaky when it counts. 

Well, that’s not true. He _does_  have great hearing, though, and he knows when to wait and listen with said good hearing. Tucked away in one of the instrument storage closets in the practice room, here earlier than Kaoru ever could think to be, Koga listens in horror to Kaoru’s _terrible_  attempts at confessions—though, shit, could he do any better?

Yeah, actually, he could. 

“Ritchii—I…I really like you, and if you’re gonna keep biting me all the time, we should just date, anyway!”

_That’s what short and to the point should sound like, honestly._

Slowly, carefully, Koga slinks his way into the practice room proper, lugging a few speakers with him. “You suck,” he bluntly says. “Straight boys really aren’t good at this kinda thing, huh.”

Kaoru jumps about a foot into the air before fumbling awkwardly after casual, laughing nervously as he brushes the hair out of his face. “Heh, yo, Wan-chan. Dogs are good at listening in doorways, huh?”

“Don’t call me that,” Koga complains reflexively, kicking the door shut behind him with a roll of his eyes. “You gotta be _honest_ , Hakaze-sempai.”

Kaoru starts to protest, then deflates, sagging back against the piano. “How? Give me gay advice.”

“I think it’s just advice,” Koga deadpans, folding his arms across his chest. “Though I guess if you were being _fake_  gay, that makes it a lot more fucking weird.” Which, by the sound of it, was what was going on—though those kisses weren’t fake, and neither are those bite marks that Kaoru almost continuously sports on his neck now.

That statement brings Kaoru up short, and he runs back his words in his own head for a few moments, until it clicks. Crap. “Oh. You heard that too, huh? Ahhh, don’t blame me, I was being blackmailed.”

“Uh huh. Fucking sleazy, Kaoru-sempai.” _Not important!_  Koga’s mind screams at him, though trying to convince himself that he’s _over_  Sakuma Rei is a fucking waste of time. Still, he squares his jaw, exhaling a long breath. “Whatever, ’s not important. You like him a lot now—sorry, you _love_  him—“ Ugh. “You gotta just tell him straight up. ‘I love you, I wanna date for real.’ Don’t you get _girls_  all the time?” 

“Girls are easy!” Kaoru complains, waving a careless hand. “This is...shit, _you_ of all people should know how hard he is to confess to. What if he turns into a bat?”

Koga’s face flushes hot. “He can’t turn into a fucking bat,” he mutters. “Just ‘cuz I never said shit to him doesn’t mean other people that are _good_  at it can’t do it. It’s just. The way he fucking stares at me. He’s too pretty, words don’t happen.” _That wasn’t a problem when you confessed to Ritsu, so it’s something else!_  Koga points out to himself. “You’re _used_  to confessing to really pretty people, and it’s not like he’s gonna turn you down.” 

“So you think. But...what if he does?” Kaoru rubs at the back of his neck, feeling very young and very stupid. “I mean, it started out fake, but we’ve been having a lot of fun...but what if it’s too much for him? He wants to go pro, and...” Kaoru shakes his head.

“Practice with me.”

“H-huh?” Koga blinks back at him, suddenly wary. “Uh. Seriously? Don’t make me do my vampire bastard impression, man, you’re not gonna be able to confess to that.” 

Kaoru shrugs. “It can’t be worse than the real thing. C’mon, give it a shot--I’ll help you, if you haven’t confessed to Sakuma-bro yet.”

“…I kinda already did. Ritsu’s, uh, a lot easier to deal with.” Most people probably wouldn’t say that, but, well.

Kaoru’s mouth opens in protest at the unfairness of life. “Whaaaat, seriously? Oh, man, I’m that far behind?” He huffs, and folds his arms over his chest, darting another look at the closed door. “Now you really have to help me.”

“You gotta grow a set, man,” Koga mutters, scratching a hand back through his hair. “You’re already making out with him, why can’t you admit to his face that you like him? Ugh, fine, whatever, I’ll be the fucking loser.” 

Koga clears his throat, throwing his shoulders back, and languidly flops down in front of his own guitar case. “Kaoru-kun,” he says sadly, voice appropriately deepened. “My life is over, Ritsu _hates_  me.”

Kaoru snorts, clapping a hand over his mouth. “Sorry, sorry, it’s just...almost _too_ accurate. Okay. Cool. I can do this.”

He clears his own throat, and walks forwards, taking a deep breath and trying to see not Koga, not his dopey underclassman with the foul temper, but Sakuma Rei. The posture is close enough, so hell, he can roleplay a little. There are a few girls who would attest that he’s actually pretty good at it, heh. There had been one--

No, not the time to think about girls. 

“Hey, Sakuma-san,” he says, falsely cheerful. “Can I talk to you for a second? Even though you’re a guy?”

_Quit saying that shit, first of all!_  Koga wants to screech, but bites it back, trying not to break character even when a muscle twitches in his jaw out of irritation. “So long as you’re not going to start talking about girls.” That should put a finer point to it. “Every time you skip practice to go off on a date with them, it kills me inside and I complain to Koga-kun about it every _single_  day.” 

Kaoru laughs. Close enough, man. Time to get emotional. “So...uh, so...you know how we’ve been...having a pretty good time lately? Together?”

Koga wishes he could imitate that _stare_  that Sakuma Rei does, all dark, swirling eyes and heavy, hooded lashes, but good fucking luck. “Have we? I thought Kaoru-kun would have rather been spending his time with girls.” He sighs out a long breath. “You know, just the other day, when I went to find Ritsu at lunch, he looked the cutest I’ve ever seen him…”

Kaoru gives Koga a flat, hopefully inscrutable look. Does he know? Rei had acted like it was a big deal to reveal that he was truly brocon for Ritsu, but Koga is intimate with Ritsu, so maybe...

Regardless, he settles in, flopping down on the piano bench close to Koga, but not as close as he would if it were Rei. _Imagine Rei._ Imagine dark silky hair, imagine swirling crimson eyes, imagine pale skin and a dopey smile. “I love you,” he blurts out, feeling as stupid as he ever has, and way more exposed. “And I wanna date for real.”

Koga swallows hard. This is the part where he himself has fumbled over in all of his own confession play-throughs—how the fuck _would_  Sakuma Rei react to that? Definitely not like him, seizing up and red-faced and unsure of what to fucking say. 

“T-tap out, man, tap out,” he mutters, turning away with a wave of one hand. “Do it like that, you know he’ll fucking kiss you and that’ll be the end of it. He’s really fucking into you.”

Kaoru claps Koga on the shoulder, and squeezes. “You’re a good friend. Sorry I called you Pupper the other day, it’s kinda contagious.”

“It’s the fucking worst and you should feel bad.” Koga wipes both hands down his face. “You two are _gross_ , you know that?” 

“You and Ritsu are totally worse, no fair!”

“The fuck we are, we don’t make out in public and he only wants to fuck another guy _sometimes._ ” 

Kaoru makes a face, but gets up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “You go ahead and wait around here, I’m gonna skip off. I’ll catch him after class or whatever.”

“Oi, slacker,” Koga irritably snaps after him, hauling himself to his feet again and grabbing for the folder of music marked with Kaoru’s name atop the piano. “At least take the shit he left for you if you’re not gonna practice.” He hesitates, then scowls, and shoves the folder against Kaoru’s chest. “If you aren’t perfect, _I’m_  gonna hunt you down,” he warns. “This Live’s important. We can’t fuck up.” 

“Ehhh? I wouldn’t fuck up! I wouldn’t--”

Kaoru gestures, a broad statement of _I’m good at performing actually_ , but something falls out of the folder before he can say it. He bends, picking up what looks like a sheaf of papers, then sees his name written on it in flowing Roman script. 

That looks like a job for _later_ , he decides, and shoves the papers back into the folder. “Whatever, I’ll see you later.”

Koga stares after him, an exasperated sigh leaving his mouth as he yanks open his guitar case. “Yeah, whatever. Good luck, man.” _Someone_  has to have good luck with Sakuma Rei, because it isn’t him.

~

Attending a Knights performance is…an adventure. 

First and foremost, Rei bundles himself up beyond what he hopes is all comprehension. Hat, check, sweater, check, mask, check, which at least means he doesn’t get recognized in the line for bromides when he cheerfully buys Ritsu’s (only Ritsu’s) and picks up those special edition fanclub copies, too. It’s worth it, for the Ritsu content.

And only the Ritsu content, it turns out.

It’s always baffling to Rei why anyone would call Tsukinaga Leo a genius, but perhaps it’s in more of a generalized sense, not a musical one. When he isn’t specifically watching Ritsu, he’s sneaking a few texts to Shu (“ww help me why is knights music like this ww i’m gonna die”) on the cellphone that’s only good for these kinds of occasions…and for the aftermath, when it’s readily apparent that Ritsu didn’t leave a note for any family member of his to be allowed backstage. 

Nice.

To: Ritsu

Subject: Riiiitsuuuu

I’m here at your Live!!! Meet me at the stage door, please?? You looked so cute I bought all your bromides and I want an autograph

That’s fairly normal, right? Right? Oh, god, please let it seem normal.

A good ten minutes after the text, Ritsu leaves a final nip to Koga’s throat, shrugs into his sweater, and winks. “Don’t go anywhere,” he says, eyeing the ropes securing Koga’s wrists to the radiator. “I’ll be right back.”

Then he grabs a pen and slinks out the door, raising his eyebrows at his brother’s disguise. “You look really stupid.”

“I didn’t want anyone to recognize me, it would have taken attention away from you,” Rei says with a laugh, pulling down his mask as he pulls out the stack of bromides from his bag. This is what patience gets him, a very cute little brother actually showing up! “You were so cute, Ritsu! Your voice has gotten even lovelier, I could listen to you all day.” 

Ritsu relaxes slightly, leaning back against the wall, blinking slowly at his brother. This looks like an opportunity for prime torment. “And the music? Did you like it?”

“Ahhh…I loved listening to you, but I always do!”

“I get it. Aniija hates my unit and hates my singing and hates my solos.”

“W-what? No, that’s not what I said!” Rei frantically says. “I—it’s just—ah, you know, _most_  songs modulate at least once? It’s an interesting choice for your unit’s songs to never do that! Very, very interesting.” 

“Uh huh.” Ritsu reaches up, and tugs at Rei’s hat, pulling it down over his eyes. “So Aniija thinks I have bad taste in music. That I’m stupid with no taste. Cool.”

“Noo, Ritsuuu,” Rei whines, pulling his hat back up. “I think you sound beautiful! I just think—maybe, you would do better in a unit that would give you more chances to, ah, shine? Tsukinaga-kun’s music seems to be tailored more towards…other…unit members…” 

“Aniija thinks my voice sounded bad. He thinks my voice sucks.”

“No, I think the music sucks!” Shit. And he’d been trying so hard, too. Rei groans, hanging his head. “Ritsuuu, be nice, I just want you to be in a unit where you can show off how talented you are…”

Ritsu yawns, letting out a little squeak at the end, stretching his arms out wide before relaxing. “Now you’re making me mad. Everyone else likes Knights. I’m popular, Aniija. And I’m getting lots of work outside of school. I have a savings account.” He leans forward, red eyes glinting. “And I think the music is _good_. Ou-sama’s a genius.”

“You don’t really think that,” Rei says, his voice pleading. “I mean, I’m glad you’re getting work, and this is a good boost for your career, but you can be honest with me—you can tell me that you think the music is bad, too, even if you look so…so cute in this uniform.” He’d put his foot down about _not_  buying the swimsuit photobook for reasons like this.

“Aniija only thinks Knights’s music is lame because his taste is bad,” Ritsu says licking his lips. “He likes boring classical and jazz. Ou-sama writes cool music. It has a groove.”

“I like a lot of things, not just classical and jazz! Ritsuuuu,” Rei whines, grabbing Ritsu’s shoulders. “Listen to your Onii-chan! I could write you much cooler music, I’d write you _solos_  where you could sing like an angel—you should join UNDEAD, or I’ll come up with a unit just for the two of us—“

Ritsu gives Rei’s hat a whack, knocking it off his head. “Pass. I’m cute and successful.” He pouts, and mutters, “If Aniija really loved me, he’d see I’m happy where I am.”

“B-but…” Rei deflates. “I do really love you. And I want you to be happy! I just, I want you to have an amazing career and…” _Stoooop, you’re being terrible!_  his own mind points out to him, and Rei sighs, shutting his eyes. “You’re right, you’re right. You’re the cutest member, so you’re bound for success. I had to fight for your bromides, you know.” 

Ritsu wavers for a minute. Koga had given him a talking-to, and he _has_ missed his brother so much it feels like a constant sick weight in his chest...

Screw it, it’s nighttime and he’s full, and Rei looks so stupid. He takes a step forward, and thunks his head into Rei’s chest. “Onii-chan’s live was really cool last week,” he says softly. “I hid.”

For a moment, Rei can’t even _react_. 

_He called me Onii-chan!!!!_  is what screams at the forefront of his mind, followed shortly by _oh my god he’s touching me on his own and I’m not even dragging him over?!_ which just makes him choke down a whimper, and helplessly sling his arms around Ritsu to envelop him in a tight hug. “Ritsu is the cutest, the best,” he huffs down into Ritsu’s hair. “You should have told me you came, I would’ve invited you backstage, and we could’ve gone out for ice cream afterwards—“

“Had plans after. And I wasn’t....ready.”

Ritsu’s eyes sting, and in retaliation, he blows his nose on Rei’s shirt. “I gotta go. My dog needs a walk.”

“No no no no no, don’t go yet, Ritsu—“ Rei seizes him by the arms, drawing back enough to better catch his gaze. “Ritsu, you—I—“ he swallows, wavering. “I know I’ve been really shitty since I came back. I’m…I’m sorry.” 

The confession startles Ritsu, and his lower lip wobbles. His eyes flick up to Rei’s face, then down again, blinking rapidly. “Yeah. I guess I’ve...I mean, it’s your fault. It’s your fault I’m mean to you.”

“You can be as mean as you want to be, just…” Rei laughs wetly, shrugging as he gives Ritsu’s arms a squeeze. “Just…please don’t run away from me? I’m…I’m trying, I really am. Maybe call me ‘Onii-chan’ once in awhile, too, even if you’re insulting me, that would be good.” 

“...I’ll consider it.” Ritsu wipes his face with his sleeve, then wipes it on Rei, blinking the rest of the tears away. “Can you maybe...act normal sometimes, at home? Like...the way you used to? Just sometimes?”

“…I’ll try,” Rei quietly promises, unfazed by having Ritsu’s snot on him. It comes with the big brother territory. “No matter what you think, I didn’t change to hurt your feelings, Ritsu.” 

“I just...” Ritsu shrugs, frustrated, but much less than usual. “I feel like...you changed because you didn’t like the you you used to be. But...I loved that you, Onii-chan.”

_Shot through the heart!_  Rei’s mind short circuits for a moment, and he swallows hard, his fingers trembling before he forces himself to let Ritsu go—for his own sanity, really. “I changed because…because I needed to distance a lot of people,” he quietly says, reaching up to brush a strand of Ritsu’s hair out of his face. “So they’d expect a lot less out of me, you know? Being the way I used to be was a lot of work, and I got my ass kicked for it. I got really tired of having my ego smashed at this stupid school.” 

Ritsu closes his eyes, leaning into his brother’s touch. It’s cool and dry, the same he always used to remember, the touch that would come out of the dark when he was ill, or having a bad day, or sad because his brain decided it was a sad day. “I don’t mean the way you used to be at school,” he says softly. “I mean the way you used to be at home. Be like that sometimes.”

“Ah.”

Rei smiles wryly, and ruffles Ritsu’s hair, mussing it out of the perfect, tame style that it’s been straightened and groomed into for tonight’s performance. It still keeps trying to curl at the edges, which is probably the cutest thing on this pathetic earth. “Okay. I can do that. But you actually have to come out of your room when I call for you to practice for me, or at least leave the door unlocked so I can come bother you.” 

Ritsu hesitates, then nods. “Yeah. I can do that.” He reaches up, and smoothes Rei’s hair down, then suddenly beams. “Now we’re twins.”

Rei sniffs, his eyes suddenly wet, and he lurches forward to grab Ritsu up into another hug. “Please make a unit with me, Ritsu! We’ll be famous, brother-style units always do well!!”

“Gross! I made a mistake! Who is this bug person??”

“It’s me, your Onii-chan! Call me that one more time, please, _please_ —“

“I will if you let me goooo--”

“I won’t fall for that! Ritsu, pleeeease, you haven’t even autographed my bromides yet!” 

“You gotta let me go, Koga’s gonna pee himself--”

Rei pauses at that, and loosens his hold enough to crane his head back and stare at Ritsu. “Come again?” 

Ritsu huffs. “Told you I had to walk the dog. He’s tied up. Eh, he might chew his arms off if I don’t let him out soon...then he couldn’t play guitar...maybe he could with his feet, I wonder how much blood there’d be?”

Rei gawks for a moment longer before releasing Ritsu, unable to do anything but laugh at this point. “Of _course_  you have him tied up back stage,” he says, shaking his head. “Of course you do. You know what, go for it, go deal with him. He likes that kind of thing way too much.” 

“Don’t get jealous. You coulda had him.” Ritsu smoothes his hair down, fussing with it for a few seconds, trying to get it to lie flat. “You went for a straight boy, weird choice.”

“I’m not jealous, I’m not.” _Not in the direction you’re thinking,_  Rei wryly thinks, but ah, he’ll just keep that to himself. Ritsu’s letting him _cuddle him_  and calling him _Onii-chan_ , that’s so much better than being a gross weirdo and scaring him off. “I didn’t _go_  for anything. It just sort of happened.” 

“Whatever, I don’t care. But if he hurts you, I’ll eat his feet.”

Rei blinks, and his eyes quickly fill with tears again. “R-Ritsu—ahh, Ritsu’s being protective of me, I thought you didn’t care—“

“Don’t be dumb. I’m the only one who’s allowed to hurt you, that’s all.” Ritsu gives Rei’s chest an affectionate shove, then opens the door to backstage. “Later...Onii-chan.”

Melting down to the ground is the only option Rei has, his face buried into his hands. “Ritsu, I love you!” It doesn’t even matter that Ritsu never signed his bromides. 


	12. Chapter 12

It’s not particularly graceful, the way Kaoru runs in through Rei’s bedroom door and slams it behind him, fumbling frantically for a lock in the near-darkness. In his defense, it’s self-defense.

The Live had been...difficult. Sure, it had only been a B1, but Rei had insisted that it was the principle of the thing, that they couldn’t afford to lose to fine again even in a Live that makes no difference. They’d lost, of course. It had been a done deal since the moment they’d announced Rei as their king, when Tenshouin’s eyes had lit up, and sent all of his members after him, one after the other, saving all big songs and performances for when they’re up against the demon king.

God, but Rei had been magnificent, gripping the microphone with both hands, hips swiveling, voice purring pure sexual notes over the audience in his deep, velvety tone. Kaoru had been as dazzled as the rest of the audience, barely restraining himself from picking up a handmade fan and waving it, wryly amused when he glances over and sees the same adulation in Koga’s eyes. _Stupid Rei. Do you do this to everyone, eventually?_

At the last, it had been a long Live, and they’d all been tired. Hibiki had used his last great song, and barely edged out Rei’s lilting ballad. Kaoru had almost done it then, grabbed Rei and told him _I love you, I want it to be real_ , but Rei had disappeared too quickly, probably blaming himself in that cute way he does. 

So the next day, a Saturday, Kaoru waits until it gets dark, and shows up at the Sakuma house, winding up running through the dark stairs in the dim light, charmingly pursued by the elegant Mistress of the Night, Sakuma Airi, until he launches himself headlong into Rei’s room and bolts the door. 

“Hi,” he pants, going for a charming smile. “Sup?”

Rei sits in the middle of his bed, coffin be damned, huddled up underneath a hideously plaid blanket with a stack of manuscript in front of him. He blinks, brow furrowing, not entirely comprehending that it’s _Kaoru_  in his bedroom, of all places, and immediately, the dread surrounding that starts sinking into his gut. 

Oh, god, I am not ready for this today. 

_After that failure of a Live, Rei isn’t sure he’ll ever be ready for it again. That’s a stupid, pessimistic way of looking at it, but as he’d joked with Ritsu earlier, depression takes no shortcuts in making one hate themselves and everything they’ve ever done!_

On top of this, on a more personal, embarrassing note, Kaoru hasn’t once mentioned those notes he’d tucked in with the rest of his music—but that’s…fine. Expected, even. _Stop chasing the boys you can’t have, Rei._

Which is why skipping school for a pair of days and holding up in his room seems like the most logical choice, because he can’t even fake a smile to go along with his cynicism. “…Kaoru-kun,” he manages. “What…why are you…did my mom try to eat you? I’m so sorry.”

Kaoru’s heart sinks a little at the sight of Rei. He’s never exactly seen Rei this way, but he’d heard about it, and it’s familiar from the way all the Oddballs go eventually, along with that Knights king. He sighs, and leans back against the door for a little added security, forcing a smile. “No worries, I’ll get used to it super quick, I’m flexible that way. You feeling okay? You did such a good job at that Live, I’m surprised you’re awake a few days later.”

“I lost and I passed out afterwards.” He had at least waited to do the latter when no one was looking, because in a pinch, a broom closet backstage makes a fantastic makeshift coffin. Rei slowly leans to the side, flipping on a lamp to give Kaoru at least a bit more lighting, and tries not to cringe too much when the light hits his skin. “That’s not a good job.” 

“It’s a B1, who cares? We’ve just gotta get onstage and dazzle ‘em next time, right?” It’s hard to be relentlessly positive when Rei seems to be so determined to be a downer. It’s extra hard to consider confessing. What a joke. 

“Every Live is important.” Rei slowly flops to the side, pulling his blanket tighter around himself. “I try as hard as I can every single time, but it doesn’t matter, because Tenshouin never, ever…” He trails off, exhaling a wet huff. “What is it that Shu says? ‘To get what he wants, he always has to take it from someone else.’” 

Great. This is just turning into yet another segment of _I hate Tenshouin Eichi_ , something Kaoru gets to hear from five or six people all day, most days. Not that he’s the world’s biggest Eichi fan, but the arguments against him are getting kinda boring and repetitive. “Yep, he’s an asshole. But we’ll get him next time, right? Maybe he’ll go into the hospital again and we can get him then?”

“I hope he needs a blood transfusion and they mix up his blood type.” 

“Heh.” That’s about as much enthusiasm as Kaoru can summon for Tenshouin’s inevitable destruction today, and he fiddles with the strap of his bag, feeling stupid for even coming. “Um, you need a snack? Have you eaten?”

Rei weakly lifts his head, only to let it fall back down again with a resounding thump. “Kaoru-kun’s too good of a boy to be here,” he mumbles. “I wrote you so many songs and you didn’t even get to show off because they just kept harassing me instead.” 

Kaoru flaps a hand. “Man, you’ve got to get over this, just a little bit. If you hate losing Lives this much, just quit booking them, we’ll just coast until we graduate. I won’t complain.”

“That’s not good enough if we wanna go pro.”

_Ugh, stupid._  Rei slowly rolls over, now entirely facedown. “Like you’d ever wanna go pro with someone like me, b-but…that’s what I keep thinking about. If we did.”

Slowly, Kaoru slouches down to the floor, resting his elbows on his knees. “You need to see me as a partner first,” he says quietly. 

“That’s not fair. Kaoru-kun is…” Rei trails off, gnawing on his lower lip. “I don’t know who else I’d want to do something like that with. Ah, besides Ritsu, but I’ve ruled that out…” 

Kaoru shrugs. “Cool. I’ll think about it, I guess.” It’s nice to be the bottom of the barrel as far as Rei is concerned. God, he’s so stupid, thinking he could actually, what, confess? And they’d have a happy ending, date and get married and forget that Kaoru’s family is absolutely going to set him up a marriage in a few years?

Kaoru does not sound happy. Ah, who could blame him? Who would want to work with someone like him, who can’t even rank high in a stupid school performance? 

No, it’s not that. The letters. That’s what’s making everything terrible and awkward, and it’s time to man up and apologize or lose the one vaguely normal, nice, sweet friend he has. 

“Kaoru-kun…” Rei hesitates again before he shoves himself up, wobbling a little. “Kaoru-kun, I’m…” All of a sudden, it’s so much harder to apologize to Kaoru than it was to Ritsu, and the words catch up in his throat. He huffs, and he slithers off the bed, flopping down to the floor into a full, deep dogeza. “I am so, so sorry.” Once he says that, everything else is like word vomit. “I’ve made everything so obnoxious and awkward and terrible and it’s entirely my fault that you were caught up in all of this mess—I…I understand if you want to leave UNDEAD and be done with me entirely, and if you don’t want that, then I’m begging you, please just forget those letters I left for you and we don’t ever have to talk about this fake relationship thing again. I’ll even publicly tell our fans that we broke up and that it was my fault.”

“The...”

Kaoru’s eyes are wide, and he fights the urge to scamper away, knowing there’s nowhere to run. His mind skitters around, searching for something, anything that makes sense for why Rei’s got his forehead pressed to the ground acting like he’s done something, when Kaoru can’t think of--

Letters.

Ohhhh. “Letters...those papers?” he asks sheepishly. “If there’s something you didn’t mean to write, uh, you should know, Sakuma-san, I forgot about them. They’re in my bag. Sorry, I thought they were sheet music, I was gonna get around to it...”

The dogeza slowly turns to Sakuma Rei just lying flat on the floor. “You know what, Kaoru-kun,” he says, pulling his hair over his face. “That was a more effective takedown of my ego than anything Tenshouin or even Ritsu has _ever_  done. You win. Congratulations. Now please light me on fire, it’s the only way to truly kill an adolescent vampire.” 

“I came here to confess to you,” Kaoru blurts, because if there’s a damn thing he can do to make Rei less embarrassed, he’s going to, even if that means offering up his own humiliation instead. “Because I, I really like you. I--dammit, I practiced this--even if you’re a guy, I...” He drags his hands down his face, mumbling, “I love you, Sakuma-san.”

“H…huh?” Now he’s hallucinating. Side effects of being alone and hungry for more than a day, probably. Rei warily lifts his head, still mostly hiding his flushed face behind the fall of his hair. “Kaoru-kun—I…y-you…you know, it’s okay to distance yourself and recover from Stockholm syndrome, I swear—“ 

Kaoru lifts his head, giving Rei a glare. “Have a little respect for my feelings, Sakuma-san. Just, like, a little.”

Rei gulps. “Okay,” he manages, slumping back down. “That isn’t fair, though. I confessed a week ago and you didn’t even know, but _I_  didn’t know you didn’t know and so I assumed you just ignored it for the sake of preserving our tenuous friendship.” He sucks in a shaky breath, and blinks back the sharp, salty tears that prick into his eyes out of nowhere. “I t-thought you hated me, you know? Kaoru-kun’s such a good boy.” 

Kaoru has to move at that, crawling forward to pet Rei’s hair for a moment, then grab his head, yanking him forward into a hard, sudden kiss that has nothing of fakes, has nothing of teasing, has nothing of easy slow intimacy. This is passion, hot and curling in his chest, his tongue shoving into Rei’s mouth, fingers firm and strong on Rei’s head.

Oh. 

Oh.

_It takes a few, agonizing seconds before Rei can bring himself to react, grabbing back at Kaoru insistently, no, desperately, and topples forward after him, his mouth hot and needy against Kaoru’s own._

It happens so fast that he doesn’t even think to retract his fangs when he’s this desperate, and he feels them prick against his own tongue when it drags against Kaoru’s, and then he tastes Kaoru’s blood, too, bright and sweet on his tongue. Rei shudders, drawing back, sucking at Kaoru’s lower lip as he does. “S-sorry,” he rasps, his hands clutching at Kaoru’s shirt. “Sorry, you’re so good, Kaoru-kun, I—“

“Nothing to apologize for,” Kaoru gasps, clutching at Rei’s shirt, keeping him close as hell. He kisses him again, shifting to get into Rei’s lap, kneeling astride Rei’s thighs, coming at him from above this time and determined not to let him go. “Sorry I’m such a flake, sorry I don’t care enough for you, but I want you so bad--”

“N-no, don’t say things like that, you’re—“ Rei lurches up to kiss Kaoru hard, the little prick his fangs left on Kaoru’s lip dripping blood down his chin, and Rei can’t help but helplessly lap that up. His hands slide down to grab handfuls of Kaoru’s ass, squeezing hard, and he shoves his face into the side of Kaoru’s neck next. “You’re perfect,” he says on a wet laugh. “You’re so fucking perfect. God, I’m glad you didn’t read those letters, burn them, putting you into words doesn’t work, anyway.” 

“I want you to fuck me.” 

Kaoru doesn’t expect the words that come out of his mouth, but saying them feels _right_ , and Kaoru licks the blood off his own lip, then kisses Rei again, shoving his bloody tongue into Rei’s mouth. 

Rei is _pretty sure_  he knows how to breathe, but apparently, not right now.

He doesn’t think for a moment, just reacts, and that mostly has to do with sucking on Kaoru’s tongue with a groan, his eyes fluttering and his fingers kneading, jerking Kaoru forward, deeper into his lap. “Kaoru-kun,” he pants out, his eyes dark. “Kaoru-kun, are you—g-god, you can’t say shit like that.” 

Which is why in the next second, Rei scrambles to his feet, tossing Kaoru onto his bed, and follows after him in a heartbeat. He shoves a thigh up between Kaoru’s legs and grabs at his wrists, pinning them over Kaoru’s head as he bends to kiss him again, and again, panting helplessly between each one, his hard cock digging into the jut of Kaoru’s hip.

“Youre--” Kaoru only breaks off to laugh, hungry and ready, legs splayed, one arched up to wrap around Rei’s waist, pulling him in close. “You’re supposed to take my clothes off, first,” he pants, reaching up to yank at Rei’s pajamas. Before this, he’s always thought that being so horny he’d physically rip someone’s clothes off was just a fiction. Just now, he kinda gets it. 

“I _have_  done it before, you know,” Rei snippily retorts, snapping his teeth against Kaoru’s neck just once before he leans back, yanking his own shirt off first. His hands make for Kaoru’s shirt next, dragging it up and over his head, and he reaches down, palming over the hard line of Kaoru’s cock through his jeans, and his breath hiccups in his throat. “God, I’m so gay,” he says, laughing breathlessly at himself. “D’you know how much I think about your dick?” 

“Less thinking,” Kaoru advises, rocking his hips up, up, _harder_ against Rei’s hand with a breathless groan. “More touching. You gonna let me get it out this time?” 

Never mind that he’d been the one to suggest doing it through their pants on the beach. Doesn’t make much difference right now, not when he’s already achingly hard and his chest is tingling. What the hell, his nipples never do that when he’s with a girl. Maybe it’s because he knows how much Rei likes messing with them.

Rei immediately grabs for Kaoru’s fly, opening it and hooking his fingers into both his pants and underwear to drag them down. His mouth waters a little, and curbing the desire to put his mouth on Kaoru’s dick, remembering how he tastes and how it had felt shoved down his throat, is really fucking _hard._  

He manages, with the promise of other things in mind. 

“Kaoru-kun’s never let me finger him before,” Rei says, almost giddily, and he lunges forward to retrieve a bottle of lube from underneath his pillow. “Nn, you’re sure it’s fine? I thought _you_  wanted to top…”

“Uh, let me see if I hate it, okay?” 

Kaoru turns over, resting his cheek against the pillow, letting his knees spread on the blankets. “I mean, I tried it myself and it was okay--not _great_ , or anything, but give it a shot, right? Everything is...everything is better when it’s you, baby.”

Kaoru could put five insults in that sentence and it would still be nullified by that little moniker. Rei sucks in a sharp breath, nodding mostly to himself, and he leans down to plant a kiss to the back of Kaoru’s shoulder. “If you hate it, it’s cool,” he lowly reassures him, rolling the lube between his hands to warm it up a bit before letting it drip over his fingers. Some of it ends up spilling down the cleft of Kaoru’s ass, which is just an excuse for Rei to drag his fingers through it, teasing over his hole. “Just…let me take care of you, Kaoru-kun.” 

One finger, at least, doesn’t have too much resistance…ahh, but that’s because Rei is careful and slow and made _sure_  to make it as slick as he can without it being sloppy when he wriggles that finger inside as far as he can. “There we go,” he sighs, nuzzling Kaoru’s hair out of the way to mouth a kiss to the back of his neck, and slowly curls that finger. “Mnn, Kaoru-kun, you feel so good inside…”

Kaoru’s cock softens for a weird moment, when Rei’s finger slides in and twists in his ass, because while it certainly does feel different with Rei doing it, it’s mainly weird in a different way. He tenses, shifting and squirming a little, eyes squeezed shut as he lays his cheek against the pillow. “Any, uh, advice? On how to make it feel better? Nnh, it doesn’t hurt, yaoi AVs are bullshit, heh.”

“Oh, god, don’t watch that shit,” Rei mutters, exhaling a sigh. “Give me a sec, I don’t like it when it’s just one, either.” 

A second finger is more difficult, though, because now Kaoru is tense and squirmy, and Rei snakes his other hand around to gently pinch one of his nipples when he wriggles that finger inside. “It’s hard to get a good angle if you’re doing it yourself,” he murmurs. “But for someone else…it’s pretty easy to just—“ With two fingers, both of which being quite long, it’s _very_  easy to slowly curl them—downward, at this angle—and _stroke_.

Kaoru loses his mind.

The sound he lets out doesn’t sound like his own voice. Hell, it barely sounds _human_ , and his hands grab at the sheets, mouth opening, weird noises stuttering out. His leg kicks out randomly, and he tries to drag it back up into position as his back arches. “The...the fuck is that?” he asks, startled and half-conscious, grinding down in search of more liquid pleasure. “Don’t--stop--”

Rei stifles a giggle, intensely pleased with himself, and he surges forward as he spreads those fingers inside, making it feel like much _more_  before he rubs them over Kaoru’s prostate again. “Good, huh?” he croons, his eyes bright and eager, and he draws his hand back enough to wriggle a third finger inside, unable to help himself. “Kaoru-kun should let me make him come just from this. It takes the edge off.” He sucks on the side of Kaoru’s neck as he leans over him, pressing his fingers in deep, working them inside to stroke and pet him from the inside out. “Then maybe you’ll be so _good_  when I put my dick in you,” he lowly murmurs. “You know how big it is, but you can take it, I know.” 

Kaoru keens, high and whining, twisting around to bite at the bedsheets, teeth digging into the fabric, drool soaking through in a heartbeat. It’s hard to remember how stupid he looks, how slutty, how _gay_ he looks with his face in Rei’s bed with his ass in the air, when he feels so good his mind spins. “S-sakuma...san...” he groans, but that’s too many hard consonants when his bones feel like they’re liquidizing.

“I’m--this is--you’ve gotta--” 

He chokes off anything else when that pleasure twists hard through his abdomen, fizzling out through his body, a weird pang of it shooting through his cock, making him convulse, liquid dribbling from his cock in possibly the strangest feeling he’s ever felt. “The--the hell is...why is it...oh, god--”

“Different, mm?” God, Kaoru’s lucky he’s able to keep talking at all, what with how hard his own cock is. It aches and throbs against the back of Kaoru’s thigh, and Rei reaches down to squeeze it slowly as he milks Kaoru’s orgasm with gentle strokes of his fingers, rubbing against that spot with intense precision. His own breath hiccups, and he finally forces himself to pull his hand back. “Fuck, you look so good,” he groans, sagging back and fumbling to get his cock out. “Kaoru-kun, you’ve gotta let me put it in.”

“Do it.”

The words are slurred and muffled, but shit, Rei could have said, _Kaoru-kun, let me put my fist through your chest_ and he’d probably have agreed at the moment. He spreads his knees, opening himself farther, trying to catch his breath as his hands knead into the blankets over and over, his thighs trembling. “Do whatever you want to me, baby, I’m gonna love it if it’s you, I love you--”

“Fuck,” Rei whispers eloquently, his hands fumbling for the lube again in his eagerness. “K…Kaoru-kun, you’re so hot,” he mumbles, licking at his lips as he yanks his pajama pants down and kicks them off entirely. His cock aches, throbbing between his legs, and slicking it with lube nearly makes him come right then and there. “Just…tell me if it’s too much, I’ll try to go slow, I swear,” Rei adds with a ragged laugh, though god, he can’t promise anything, not with how his cock looks just rubbing against Kaoru’s slick hole, painfully hard, dripping, _much_  more than fingers.

But Kaoru’s _begging_ , and Rei can’t stop himself. Easing just the head of his cock inside makes his eyes flutter, and he bites into his lower lip, tasting his own blood when he shoves forward when he feels it catch, feels that resistance, unable to stand it. Glancing down through his lashes is a fucking mistake, because his cock looks huge sinking into Kaoru’s ass, spreading him wide, and sweat drips down from Rei’s jaw to splatter against Kaoru’s arched back when his hands grip at Kaoru’s hips to steady them both. 

The last several seconds flash in front of Kaoru’s eyes. Where had it gone wrong? Everything had been relaxed and orgasmic, and suddenly it feels like Rei had shoved his whole arm up somewhere arms should _not_ be. “Uhhhh....”

The sound comes out tinny and hiccupping and high-pitched, and Kaoru’s hands on the blankets starts grabbing, trying to pull himself away. “Um....uh....” What are the words? What are words that will stop this enormous, incredible thickness from spreading him wide? How the hell can he make his mouth work?

“I got it, I hear you, I know it’s big, just relax,” Rei groans, though it takes some _serious_  effort to stop and go still…and to not go fucking _insane_  because Kaoru is squeezing down on him _so_  tightly. He huffs, pulling out slowly and carefully. “Plan B,” he manages, rolling to the side as he rakes his hair out of his face, taking a minute to collect himself when he’s pretty sure he’d eat Kaoru alive otherwise. “Let me bite you first.” 

Kaoru sucks in a shuddering breath, toes curling as he lays still, facedown with every intimate part of him stinging. He feels raw, wrung-out, and salt crusts his eyelashes as he breathes. A large part of him wants to beg off, to call it quits for the night. Rei would understand. After all, he’s already come. 

But Rei looks so _cute_ , and sounds so hopeful...

Kaoru rolls his thigh to the side. “Lunch away~”

Rei hesitates, but hunger and hormones don’t mix well for self-control. “If you still hate it,” he says, though it pains him with every word, “then it’s fine, but maybe you just need a little more help getting used to it…” 

He scoots down to mouth a kiss to the inside of Kaoru’s thigh, a slow lick to the skin leaving him to taste salty, sharp sweat before he can’t wait beyond that and bites down, neatly piercing the femoral artery to drink in long, thirsty gulps.

All the tense nerves of the past few minutes slip away, and venom sends Kaoru sky high. 

Everything goes sweet and fuzzy, and Kaoru giggles, reaching for Rei, pulling him up and away from the bite before his arms give out. “Mmm.....perfect, baby. Do it again. You’re pretty.”

Rei laughs raggedly at that, and he licks up the last of the blood from his lips before pressing a kiss to Kaoru’s shoulder. “You’re _too_  fucking pretty,” he bemoans, grabbing for the lube again, because fuck it, there’s no such thing as too much at this point. “Mmn, here,” he sighs, flipping Kaoru over onto his back, savoring how floppy he is now, if nothing else. “It’s a lot easier for me to tell if you hate it like this. Sorry, I know it’s like…annoyingly big.” 

“If I keep hating it, just bite me again,” Kaoru advises, smiling as he shivers under Rei’s touch. “Nn. You’re strong. Put it in before I get my arms back, okay?”

_I’m not gonna keep biting you, that’s too much!_  Rei wants to argue, but…fuck, he’s so hard that doing anything but nodding seems pointless. 

At least like this, it’s a lot easier to pull Kaoru close by his hips, letting his legs splay to either side of his lap. More lube, a currently contently high Kaoru, and a lot of patience helps get the head of his cock against Kaoru’s hole again, rubbing there slick and aching before he pushes forward. It’s worse for _him_  this time—the taste of Kaoru’s blood on his tongue, the heat of his body, the slick, _easy_  way that his cock sinks inside…it’s too much for Rei to really handle, and he whimpers, thunking his head against Kaoru’s shoulder as he lurches forward, shoving his cock in to the hilt when Kaoru’s body is _pliant_  this time, not squeezing around him vice-tight and resistant. He’s patient, but fuck, he’s still a horny teenager, and there’s only so _much_  he can stand. “Sorry, _sorry_ ,” he pants out, his hands trembling as he braces them against the bed instead of sinking his nails into Kaoru’s hips. “F-fuck, you just—you feel so good—“

It’s a lot, still a _lot_ , but some combination of the position and the venom and the--okay, it’s mostly the venom, shoots through his veins and makes him groan, and suddenly that huge thick weight slides in so fast it makes all his breath leave in a whoosh. After a second, it’s in so deep that it starts to remind Kaoru of those fingers, the ones that had curled in and opened him up, and his mouth falls open. “S’a lot,” he murmurs, eyes fluttering half-closed, wanting to be shut, still wanting to watch Rei’s face change. “But...s’good, feels good to you?”

“Y-yeah.” Rei leans up, groaning at how that tiny shift makes his hips automatically cant in deeper, and he steals a hasty kiss from Kaoru’s mouth before he sits back, blinking sweat out of his eyes. “Real good,” he breathes, adjusting to grab one of Kaoru’s legs and pull it up over his shoulder. “Now I just gotta get you to love it.” 

Taking it _slow_  is easier said than done, but… _god_ , Rei is trying. The sight of Kaoru, splayed out and shivering underneath him, that makes it really fucking hard, and his cock throbs when he rolls his hips in, scooting his knees up closer to find a better angle. “Kaoru-kun’s being so good,” he huffs, pawing a hand up to roll one of Kaoru’s nipples between his fingertips, and finding how hard those little nubs already are goes straight to his own cock. His breath stutters, and the next thrust of his hips shoves his cock in as deep as it’ll go, coarse hairs pressed flush to the curve of Kaoru’s ass. “F-feel that? It’s in all the way.”

Kaoru’s eyes roll back into his head so far that only the whites are showing. His voice sounds absurdly loud in his ears, broken, breathy pants as he clings to Rei’s arms. His legs spread almost involuntarily, chest aching in the most delicious way that makes him want to twist away, just to get more of a _pinch_ there. It’s a damn good thing he doesn’t have a needle; at this moment, he’d have begged Rei to pierce his nipples himself. “You’re in real deep,” Kaoru groans, nails dragging down Rei’s back, hard. “So--so deep, fuck me, fuck, it feels so good, baby, fuck me good--”

Biting was the right decision. 

Rei can’t stop himself now. He lurches forward when Kaoru’s nails score down his spine, mouth attacking Kaoru’s neck, biting and sucking—not with fangs, he’s got just a sliver of clarity left for that much!—every single part that he can reach when he rocks in deep, rhythmic but still desperate, overeager when his cock throbs and twitches inside with every thrust. He can feel himself leaking inside, making it even slicker, and his breath breaks on a throaty groan when he shoves in hard. “I’m gonna take such good care of you,” Rei pants out, clawing up for the headboard of his bed, clinging to it for leverage when he thrusts in with a breathless grunt. His other hand is still busy, unable to stop toying with Kaoru’s nipples when that just makes him make even more noises, and twisting, pulling and pinching whenever he thrusts in and grinds there is his new favorite thing. “K-Kaoru…fuck, god, you’re so…” 

That’s as much as he can manage to say before he comes with a gasp, thrusting through every single pulse of his cock before he buries himself inside as deeply as he can. The pulse of Kaoru’s blood is so much more obvious now, and Rei swallows, blinking dazedly as he pants into Kaoru’s shoulder and tries not to collapse when his limbs feel suddenly and acutely like jello.

Kaoru’s smile is beatific, and he’s dead sure he’s never felt so sated, so satisfied in his whole life. Sure, he’s stuffed full, but in a way that feels insanely good, a way that makes him breathe shallowly, as if Rei’s cock is so big inside him it’s taking up room that has previously been used for his damn lungs. “That...was something else, huh? So good, baby...”

Aaand that’s the last of his stamina, eaten decisively by Kaoru sounding sated and happy and calling him that _distracting_  little name. Rei huffs as he flops down, his arms giving out with a last wobble. “Kaoru-kun is the best,” he groans, shifting to nuzzle his face up into Kaoru’s neck. “It was good? For real, you don’t have to lie, I wanna make you feel good…” 

“Good eventually,” Kaoru says with a yawn, squeezing experimentally down, then stopping when that makes his eyes go wide, feeling it sting. “Yikes, that’s kinda...different, right? Aw, man, you’re good at sex.”

Rei secretly starts preening, even as he gingerly shifts, grimacing when he feels them start to stick together. “I’m gonna pull out,” he warns. “And you’re probably gonna hate it.” 

He reaches over and flips on a second lamp next to his bed, giving the room far more light for Kaoru to navigate as necessary. “It, ah, can take some getting used to…first time I did it was a lot easier, probably because Keito’s not as big,” Rei sheepishly adds, and carefully pushes himself up, pulling out with a hiss of breath. “I’ve got my own bathroom, through the door right there, if you want me to make you a hot bath or something.”

Kaoru looks down, frowning at his own body. “Um....how long until it comes out?”

“…It kinda…drips…for awhile.” Rei bites the inside of his cheek, and then can’t stop himself from adding, “Sorry to make you carry the baby.” 

Kaoru waves a hand. “I’ll just make you wipe it up and sleep in the wet spot,” he says cheerfully. “But, uh, do me the courtesy of being honest--am I actually gonna get pregnant? Your mom was pretty insistent. I know you like to fuck with me, but...”

Rei groans at that, and rolls to the side, flopping onto his back. “My mom’s a crazy bitch,” he complains. “You’ll only get knocked up if the proper _ritual_  is followed, she could’ve at least said that much.” 

“And the ritual is like, complicated and needs my full participation, right?” Kaoru presses. “I don’t wanna know that it happened because we were facing north and I ate salmon.”

“I mean, it’s not _complicated_ , but yeah, you gotta be aware of it…” Rei fidgets, and swings an arm out towards his nightstand, tugging open a drawer. “So if I had a cigarette, would you kill me?” Kaoru just gets to learn _lots_  of things about him today. 

“You’re a _really_ bad kid, huh?” Kaoru teases. He looks Rei up and down, then holds out his own hand, first two fingers parted. “Light me one too. What’s your brand?”

Rei slumps from relief, and eagerly snatches his pack out of the drawer. “Parliament,” he supplies. “I snuck these back in from England,” he adds with a laugh, passing a cigarette over and fishing out his own before lighting it with a flick of his lighter. “I can’t stand the cigarettes here in Japan, they’re gross.” Rei leans over, lighting the end of Kaoru’s cigarette with his own, and flops back with a content little sigh. “I’ve always wanted to do that, Kaoru-kun is indulging me…” 

Kaoru takes a long drag with no hesitation, blowing out a cloud of smoke before nestling up against Rei’s shoulder. “You’d hate the ones I smoke, then. Dad’s loyal to Seven Stars.”

“Ugh, no, I’m converting you.” Rei slings an arm around Kaoru’s shoulders, snuggling up to him. One inhale and exhale is all it takes to stave off lingering uncertainties and jittery nerves, and he turns his head to the side, burying his face into Kaoru’s hair. “I wrote a lot about how weird it was, all of a sudden, that you became my favorite person to be around,” he quietly admits. “That sounds lame, I know.” 

“You literally can’t have them back,” Kaoru warns. “I’m gonna read ‘em all, you gave them to me and they’re mine.”

“This is the worst. I fucked up. Please don’t ever quote them to me, I get embarrassed listening to other people sing my lyrics sometimes, have mercy.” 

Kaoru reaches up, twining a strand of Rei’s hair around a long finger. He just smiles at those antics. Rei is silly, of course. “You should take me to England. We’d tear it up.”

“God, can I?” Rei sighs, shutting his eyes, breathing in smoke. “Would your parents kill me? I think they know we’re… _involved._ ” 

Kaoru takes a minute to smoke, the smile fading slightly from his face. “We could wait a couple years. Then take off when my dad finally decides it’s time for my omiai.”

“I’m stealing you before then. Vampire wedding.” Rei is mostly serious about this part. “My mom tried to set me up once. It was a political thing.” 

Kaoru rolls onto his side, propping his head up on one arm. “Tell me about vampire weddings.”

“…You’re not gonna get mad at me after I’m honest about vampire things that actually freak you out, are you?” 

“Your mom keeps trying to eat me and I only asked if I could get pregnant _after_ you came in me. I think I can...” Kaoru trails off, frowning a little. “Actually, if it involves a lot of murder and stuff, pass. Makes me feel weird.”

“It’s not murder or anything like it,” Rei hastens to reassure him, twisting onto his side as well to face Kaoru, though he still turns his head aside to exhale a long stream of smoke. “There’s some public sex, though, on an altar, in front of all of my relatives. To, ah, prove that you’re mine, even if you’re still human? Or something like that. Honestly, I don’t know all the rules, I just almost had to marry that masked _idiot_  because he pissed off a huge sect of demons here in Japan and I got a crash course when I was 13…ahh, that was a bad year.” 

“Sounds crazy,” Kaoru agrees, stretching out his toes and wincing when the aforementioned _dripping_ starts occurring in the vicinity of his ass. “Yeesh, you weren’t wrong about that, it definitely--wait, did you say _masked idiot?_ and _marriage_?!”

Rei blinks over at him mildly, and briefly sits up to grab a towel off of the floor and pass it over to make Kaoru’s life less of a hell. “Hmm? Oh. I thought you knew about Wataru being what he is. A bad faerie child, mostly, but he managed to _really_  tick off a lot of people within my mother’s domain. I _know_  I talked about her being the Demon Queen, I remember this clearly.” 

Kaoru flaps a hand, about equally startled about Rei and Wataru’s sordid past and the towel dragging against his asshole, _ouch_ that’s sore. “Remind me to take laxatives for a few days,” he mutters, passing his cigarette butt over to be put out on the side table. “Honestly, I never know what you’re making up for flair and what you’re being honest about. I just take everything with a grain of salt.”

“It’s not going to drip for that long,” Rei exasperatedly says, putting Kaoru’s cigarette out in short order. “You know, most of the time, I’m telling the truth. The only thing I really lie about is Ritsu on most days.”  

“Nm, I can see why,” Kaoru admits, and keeps the towel close, wadded up. “I didn’t mean I’d be dripping for that long, I know how much a guy can jizz. I just mean my ass hurts.”

“Kaoru-kun, sometimes I remember _so clearly_  that you’re at least 95% straight and I just…” 

“I will wipe this nasty towel on your face, Sakuma-san.”

“And here I was about to offer to let you top most of the time, because you’re clearly so delicate.” 

“Don’t lie, you’ll still totally let me top if I want to.”

“Yes. But I have a secret weapon either way.” Rei puts out his cigarette, then reaches over, tweaking one of Kaoru’s nipples without warning. “These.” 

Kaoru shrieks, then shoves the towel in Rei’s face, his one weapon against a far stronger opponent. “Not fair! Super not fair!”

Rei just laughs, grabbing Kaoru’s arm to wrestle the towel out of his face with ease. “Kaoru-kun forgets I have a little brother~” he sing-songs. “I’m more used to these tactics than you’d ever realize~”

Kaoru drops the towel and immediately plunges a hand down, grabbing Rei’s balls without a heartbeat of hesitation. “Sakuma-san forgets _I_ have an older brother,” he says with a wink. “Don’t make me squeeze.”

“Ah, damn.” Rei’s sigh is a theatrical one. “With this kind of an outcome, I wish I had _you_  as a little brother…” 

“Mm, yeah?” This is probably a bad, bad idea, but Kaoru can’t quite help himself, stroking slightly as he asks, “You wanna take care of me....Onii-chan?”

Rei knows it’s predictable and doesn’t particularly care, because pinning Kaoru is easy when he actually moves at the full speed and strength that he’s capable of. “Kaoru-kun is _awfully_  cute,” he sweetly says, neatly holding Kaoru’s wrists above his head, his eyes brilliantly red underneath his lashes and his face a bit flushed. “But if he calls me that again, I’m _going_  to eat him alive.” 

Kaoru laughs, going pleasantly boneless and relaxed under Rei. “As long as it doesn’t involve my cute little hole, okay? You’re so predictable... _Onii-chan._ ”

Rei bites. 

He doesn’t really think it through before he sinks his teeth in, but the blood fresh from Kaoru’s carotid makes his toes curl and his fingers squeeze tight around Kaoru’s wrists. Thank god he’s always had good aim, or they’d both be fucked, he dimly thinks. 

When he draws back, it’s with a long, drawn out suck, leaving a dark bruise to accompany the marks of his teeth for the first time, and he pants out a breath, running his tongue over his fangs. There’s no point in examining his own psychosis about this; Kaoru says ‘Onii-chan’ really fucking cutelyand his dick is hard, end of story. “In a perfect world, I’d fuck you through the mattress again—but Kaoru-kun is too delicate for that, what a shame…”

“You have to be nice to your cute little brother,” Kaoru agrees, twisting carefully under Rei’s hold. “Real nice.” A part of him wants to urge Rei to fuck him again, but he tries clenching and feels a little ill. Right, a compromise. He’s had plenty of girls that didn’t want him inside, for whatever reason. “Onii-chan...put it between my thighs. You wanna, right? You can turn me over and do me as hard as you want.”

_Well, shit_ , Rei helplessly thinks, his chest heaving for a second as he stares down at Kaoru, and gives up. 

Maybe he’s hasty in the way that he flips Kaoru over, but so help him, Kaoru isn’t playing _fair_. “Kaoru-kun is too cute,” Rei breathes against his shoulder as he leans over him, his cock rubbing against the back of one of Kaoru’s thighs, already achingly hard and dripping a slick trail against his skin. “You should know better than to tease your big brother like that.”

Every part of Kaoru’s body protests that he’s too sore, it’s too much, but Rei isn’t actually going to go _in_ , so it’s okay, he reasons. He squeezes his thighs together, reaching up to grab Rei’s headboard to keep himself anchored. Sure, a little roleplay. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s done this, though last time it had been a girl calling _him_ ‘Onii-chan,’ which had been way less weird for him because no one calls him that in a non-sexual way...but he hasn’t called his brother anything -chan for years. It’s been ‘Nii-san’ for as long as he can remember, actually, so this probably isn’t _that_ fucked-up on his end.

“Onii-chan...is gonna take what he wants, right?” he asks, not bothering to change his voice at all, letting it come out as breathy and excited as feels natural. “You’ve been a good boy for way too long, resisting me...haven’t you?”

Kaoru is playing with fire.

In a way, it’s a huge relief to know that it’s _just_  the ‘Onii-chan’ thing that gets him off, and that knowledge makes him even more eager, somehow. “I’ve been trying, but…” Rei lurches forward, his cock squeezing between Kaoru’s thighs, and he shudders at how that feels _so_  similar to being inside of him—but so much easier, thank _god_. His cock twitches, dripping as it thrusts slowly between the soft skin of Kaoru’s thighs, and Rei reaches a hand around to drag a thumb over one of his nipples, unable to help himself. “I’m not the only one that’s enjoying this, huh?” he pants out. “My cute Kaoru-kun is surprisingly bad, too, isn’t he?”

Kaoru hadn’t expected that he’d be able to get it up any time in the next _century_ , much less this quickly. Surprisingly, he feels the first twinges of heat start to coil between his legs, and he sucks in a breath. It’s too much, too fast, he’s too sensitive already, but how can he do anything else when Rei’s voice and hands and mouth and _fingers_ are being so distracting? And why the hell does he like it so much when Rei plays with his nipples, for God’s sake??

“Onii-chan is being too mean,” he pants, squeezing his thighs together, loving how dirty, how sinful it feels this way. It’s less overwhelming than having Rei inside, and he’s more able to focus on how _nice_ it is to move like this. “Onii-chan...is really turned on, hmm?”

Rei’s groan is a low, hungry one, and his fingers pinch, gentle at first, as he thrusts shallowly forward, savoring the squeeze of Kaoru’s damnably _perfect_  thighs around his cock. He _might_  have jerked off to the idea of this a couple of times already, so help him, and every single time Kaoru calls him ‘Onii-chan’, it’s like it’s connected directly to his dick. “And who’s fault is that,” he rasps, shifting, drawing his knees up closer, and his next thrust lets his cock drag up against Kaoru’s cock and balls when he shoves forward. “You should’ve never let your Onii-chan figure out how much you like having these played with,” he lowly teases, twisting the nipple between his fingertips. “You make the cutest noises when I do.” 

That nipple is getting sore, and it aches when Rei plays with it, pinching and rolling and tugging. That edge of pain, for whatever reason, is what steals Kaoru’s breath, making him pant and whine with every cruel twist. “Onii...chan,” he breathes, shoving back to let Rei shove in harder, to move and rock with him, hungry for contact, “Why does it...feel like that? Nnh, feels so good--”

Searching for more leverage, Rei grabs at the headboard as well, his fingers curling over Kaoru’s as he thrusts forward. It gets slicker with every single thrust, his cock dripping steadily as he gets closer and closer, and Rei fumbles for Kaoru’s other hand, forcing it down to let his fingers drag against his cock when it slides forward. “You feel how hard you made me? If you keep saying ‘Onii-chan’ so cutely, you’re gonna have to get used to me being inside of you more.” Rei muffles a ragged groan against the back of Kaoru’s neck, and when he thrusts forward, his cock twitches—so, _so_  close, his mind needs to frantically point out. “I’m…I’m not gonna be able to help myself—“

Kaoru’s cock aches, tingling heat sweeping through him every time Rei’s drags against it, making him shudder, making him drive back against Rei with every thrust. “That, ahh, that’s what you think,” he teases, sweat trickling down from his hairline, down his spine until it meets Rei’s chest pressed against him. He grips the headboard, letting Rei set the pace, rough and urgent and delicious. “Mmh, maybe, ah, next time, I’ll get _you_ on your back, Onii-chan...you want me to fuck you, huh? Want your little brother to--ahhh--work you over?”

The noise Rei makes is closer to a whimper than anything, and to stifle that, even biting down onto Kaoru’s shoulder doesn’t work as he suddenly comes. It’s intense enough that he scrabbles for balance for a moment, clinging to the headboard as his knees wobble, barely giving him strength to grind forward and milk his own orgasm for all it’s worth, dripping over Kaoru’s thighs with every thrust. “N…not fair, Kaoru-kun,” he groans, pawing helplessly at Kaoru’s cock, squeezing, stroking it with long fingers. “I…if you did that, I’d…” 

Kaoru laughs, but it’s cut off by a sudden moan when Rei grabs him, musician’s fingers touching him so well he sees colors sparkling in front of his eyes. “That, that, that’s so good, just like that, that’s soooo...” 

His orgasm is a pathetic thing, a single wet spurt followed by dry convulsions wracking his body. After a frantic gasp, he passes out, facedown and shivering against the bed. 

When he comes to a moment later, he grunts, thumping a hand against the bed. “Shit.”

When Kaoru comes to, Rei is already lighting a cigarette—one he _sorely_  thinks he deserves. “Same,” he wearily says, holding his cigarette out to Kaoru for him to take a puff. “You don’t play fair, Kaoru-kun. I could have died.” 

“Could have,” Kaoru agrees, taking a drag with his eyes heavily lidded, blowing out smoke into Rei’s face. “I’ll work harder next time.”

Rei shudders, and flops down in a heap next to him. “Marry me.” 

Kaoru takes another drag, blows out, and his heart does a little flop. Maybe butterflies are allergic to smoke. “For fake, or for real?”

“For real.”

“Well.” Kaoru looks up at the ceiling, feeling stupid, and does something more stupid. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

“…R…really?” He’s _got_  to stop questioning things that are so good in his life. Rei lifts his head, swallowing, and scoots closer, burying his face into Kaoru’s hair. “I’ll take you to England, and we can go pro together—ah, maybe not in that order, or maybe in that order, I don’t know yet. But…” He laughs wetly. “I need Kaoru-kun to stay with me.” 

The butterflies take flight, zooming around his insides like someone’s poking them with a stick...and then suddenly, they calm, with a few pleasant little flutters. He grins, stretching out his toes, and drapes a leg over Rei’s body, nuzzling into him. “Whatever order. I take life easy, you know? Do what feels right, what feels good? And...that’s you, for me.”

Rei immediately wraps all four limbs around Kaoru, nestling up against him until he’s sure they’re going to end up stuck together. “Kaoru-kun is such a source of good in this world.” He stuffs his face harder against Kaoru’s shoulder, and his voice is muffled after that. “I love you. Thank you so much.” 

“For what?” If Kaoru’s voice is a little choked up, he can always explain that away later. It’s allergies, or something.

“Not giving up on me.” Rei’s fingers curl into the ends of Kaoru’s hair. “And…and a whole lot of other things, but mostly that.” 

Kaoru wipes a hand down Rei’s face, forcing his eyes closed. “You’re dumb. I’m here because I love being here.”

Rei licks his hand. “Kaoru-kun is a fool,” he solemnly says. “But it’s too late now, you’ve already agreed to be my bride.” 

“Just buy me a pretty dress, it’ll all be okay.”


End file.
